Sonya

femaleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Sonya: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Sonya: Recorded since 1964, it reached #69 in 1976, and it stood at #3,318 in 2024.

4registrars recorded it
84times a registrar ranked it
61years from first to last
#69highest recorded position
20groupings it qualifies for

Region

Falling

among girls in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#753
1997	#946
1998	#955
1999	#1675
2000	#1475
2001	#2023
2002	#1442
2003	#2191
2004	#1617
2005	#2438
2006	#1585
2007	#2410
2008	#3397
2009	#5556
2010	#4688
2011	#2636
2012	#2969
2013	#2176
2014	#2659
2015	#3252
2016	#2966
2017	#4063
2018	#2340
2019	#2170
2020	#3447
2021	#2711
2022	#2178
2023	#5687
2024	#3318

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in Republic of Ireland in 41 of the 55 years from 1964 to 2018.

In 2018: #896 among girls in Republic of Ireland, #2340 among girls in England and Wales.

Official data from 4 national registrars across 4 regions, 1964–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1964
First recorded at #327 among girls in Republic of Ireland in 1964 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Girls
Highest recorded1967–1976
Highest recorded position: #69 among girls in New Zealand, in 1976 (recorded 1967–1976).
New Zealand · Girls
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #3318 among girls in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Girls

Sonya appears in 4 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Girls, which has ranked it in 41 years beginning in 1964, and has registered 918 births with the name.

Sonya across 4 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Sonya's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
Republic of Ireland · Girls	#327 (1964)	#80 (1973)	#896 (2018)	41 of 55	918 (1964–2018)	109 (1973)
England and Wales · Girls	#753 (1996)	#753 (1996)	#3318 (2024)	29 of 29	301 (1996–2024)	30 (1996)
New Zealand · Girls	#100 (1967)	#69 (1976)	#69 (1976)	8 of 10	632 (1967–1976)	89 (1968)
New South Wales, Australia · Girls	#99 (1966)	#84 (1969)	#99 (1971)	6 of 6	551 (1966–1971)	104 (1969)

Sonya by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Sonya in Republic of Ireland · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1960s	47	6 of 10	8
1970sbusiest	520	10 of 10	52
1980s	256	10 of 10	26
1990s	68	7 of 10	10
2000s	7	2 of 10	4
2010s	20	6 of 10	3

Across Republic of Ireland · Girls, the 1970s were its busiest decade, averaging 52 births a year.

Its sharpest single-year move came between 1972 and 1973, when recorded births rose by 75, from 34 to 109.

See the names Republic of Irelandhas recorded the most births with →

Sonya appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 4 regions, from 1964 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #69 in New Zealand in 1976.

Sonya's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2024	England and Wales	female	#3318	7	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	female	#5687	3	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	female	#2178	12	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	female	#2711	9	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	female	#3447	6	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	female	#2170	12	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	female	#2340	11	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	female	#4063	5	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	female	#2966	8	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	female	#3252	7	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	female	#2659	9	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	female	#2176	12	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	female	#2969	8	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	female	#2636	9	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	female	#4688	4	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	female	#5556	3	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	female	#3397	6	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	female	#2410	9	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	female	#1585	15	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	female	#2438	8	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	female	#1617	13	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	female	#2191	8	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	female	#1442	13	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	female	#2023	8	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	female	#1475	12	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	female	#1675	10	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	female	#955	22	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	female	#946	22	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	female	#753	30	High	Verified
1971	New South Wales, Australia	female	#99	96	Insufficient	Not yet available
1970	New South Wales, Australia	female	#91	102	Insufficient	Not yet available
1969	New South Wales, Australia	female	#84	104	Insufficient	Not yet available
1968	New South Wales, Australia	female	#100	81	Insufficient	Not yet available
1967	New South Wales, Australia	female	#86	93	Insufficient	Not yet available
1966	New South Wales, Australia	female	#99	75	Insufficient	Not yet available
1976	New Zealand	female	#69	77	High	Verified
1975	New Zealand	female	#70	83	High	Verified
1974	New Zealand	female	#95	63	High	Verified
1971	New Zealand	female	#79	85	High	Verified
1970	New Zealand	female	#79	85	High	Verified
1969	New Zealand	female	#75	88	High	Verified
1968	New Zealand	female	#77	89	High	Verified
1967	New Zealand	female	#100	62	High	Verified
2018	Republic of Ireland	female	#896	3	High	Verified
2015	Republic of Ireland	female	#896	3	High	Verified
2014	Republic of Ireland	female	#876	3	High	Verified
2013	Republic of Ireland	female	#747	4	High	Verified
2012	Republic of Ireland	female	#768	4	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	female	#937	3	High	Verified
2002	Republic of Ireland	female	#620	3	High	Verified
2000	Republic of Ireland	female	#465	4	High	Verified
1997	Republic of Ireland	female	#496	4	High	Verified
1996	Republic of Ireland	female	#333	8	High	Verified
1995	Republic of Ireland	female	#352	7	High	Verified
1994	Republic of Ireland	female	#411	5	High	Verified
1992	Republic of Ireland	female	#269	13	High	Verified
1991	Republic of Ireland	female	#244	15	High	Verified
1990	Republic of Ireland	female	#228	16	High	Verified
1989	Republic of Ireland	female	#228	16	High	Verified
1988	Republic of Ireland	female	#237	16	High	Verified
1987	Republic of Ireland	female	#192	25	High	Verified
1986	Republic of Ireland	female	#250	15	High	Verified
1985	Republic of Ireland	female	#208	23	High	Verified
1984	Republic of Ireland	female	#197	27	High	Verified
1983	Republic of Ireland	female	#182	30	High	Verified
1982	Republic of Ireland	female	#176	32	High	Verified
1981	Republic of Ireland	female	#176	37	High	Verified
1980	Republic of Ireland	female	#182	35	High	Verified
1979	Republic of Ireland	female	#181	33	High	Verified
1978	Republic of Ireland	female	#152	43	High	Verified
1977	Republic of Ireland	female	#141	49	High	Verified
1976	Republic of Ireland	female	#138	52	High	Verified
1975	Republic of Ireland	female	#114	67	High	Verified
1974	Republic of Ireland	female	#90	93	High	Verified
1973	Republic of Ireland	female	#80	109	High	Verified
1972	Republic of Ireland	female	#169	34	High	Verified
1971	Republic of Ireland	female	#206	22	High	Verified
1970	Republic of Ireland	female	#213	18	High	Verified
1969	Republic of Ireland	female	#211	18	High	Verified
1968	Republic of Ireland	female	#243	11	High	Verified
1967	Republic of Ireland	female	#315	5	High	Verified
1966	Republic of Ireland	female	#310	5	High	Verified
1965	Republic of Ireland	female	#325	4	High	Verified
1964	Republic of Ireland	female	#327	4	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
New South Wales, Australia hub — collected by NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages
New Zealand hub — collected by NZ Department of Internal Affairs
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 4 registrars between 1964 and 2024, ranked in 60 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #69, first reached in 1976.

It held a top-100 place in 10 years, 6 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 109 births, registered in Republic of Ireland in 1973.

Its record falls into 2 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 1 year.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1966, and 32 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Sonnie · #415, 30y
Sonny · #28, 30y
Sophia · #4, 60y
Sophia-Grace · #440, 16y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 4 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Katarzyna · #69, 60y
Magdalena · #71, 64y
Nuala · #71, 61y
Dara · #72, 62y

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1960 and 1969.

Cindy · #69, 58y
Katarzyna · #69, 60y
Caitriona · #70, 56y
Finbarr · #70, 62y

Sonya was ranked #69 in New Zealand · Girls in 1976. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Sonya and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Sonya without appearing here.

Sonya moved ahead of

Kristy Compare
In 2010 they stood at #4688 and #4688 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2011 that had become #2636 and #5785.
Cheryl Compare
In 2023 they stood at #5687 and #5687 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #3318 and #5891.
Donna Compare
In 2023 they stood at #5687 and #5687 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #3318 and #5891.
Kirsten Compare
In 2023 they stood at #5687 and #4056 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #3318 and #5891.

Moved ahead of Sonya

Francis Compare
In 2022 they stood at #2178 and #2488 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2023 that had become #5687 and #1863.
Dylan Compare
In 2022 they stood at #2178 and #3148 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2023 that had become #5687 and #1959.
Marilyn Compare
In 2022 they stood at #2178 and #2673 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2023 that had become #5687 and #2063.
Malin Compare
In 2022 they stood at #2178 and #3970 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2023 that had become #5687 and #2346.

Moved the opposite way to Sonya

Alexandra Compare
Between 1964 and 2018 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Sonya went from #327 to #896 while Alexandra went from #222 to #113.
Alice Compare
Between 1964 and 2018 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Sonya went from #327 to #896 while Alice went from #57 to #33.
Anna Compare
Between 1964 and 2018 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Sonya went from #327 to #896 while Anna went from #34 to #12.
Charlotte Compare
Between 1964 and 2018 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Sonya went from #327 to #896 while Charlotte went from #171 to #39.

Moved the same way as Sonya

Alma Compare
Between 1964 and 2018 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Sonya went from #327 to #896 and Alma from #327 to #512.
Audrey Compare
Between 1964 and 2018 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Sonya went from #327 to #896 and Audrey from #85 to #568.
Eileen Compare
Between 1964 and 2018 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Sonya went from #327 to #896 and Eileen from #17 to #336.
Ida Compare
Between 1964 and 2018 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Sonya went from #327 to #896 and Ida from #372 to #734.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 4 regions, from 1964 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #69 in New Zealand in 1976. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Sonya

Sonya at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Sonya across 4 official records

Sonya by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Sonya appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Names published alongside Sonya

Sonya and the names beside it

Sonya moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Sonya

Moved the opposite way to Sonya

Moved the same way as Sonya

Sonya at a glance

Sonya across 4 official records

Sonya by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Sonya appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Names published alongside Sonya

Sonya and the names beside it

Sonya moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Sonya

Moved the opposite way to Sonya

Moved the same way as Sonya