Sonja
About Sonja
Popular throughout Northern and Eastern Europe, particularly in countries like Sweden, Norway, Russia, and Germany, Sonja has a rich cultural heritage. The name gained international recognition through figures like Sonja Henie, the Norwegian Olympic figure skating champion.
In the United States, the name saw its peak popularity in the 1940s and 1950s, though it has remained a consistent if uncommon choice in all three of its most common spellings. Sonia is the most popular spelling in the US, given to 168 baby girls last year, followed by Sonya, used for about 100, with Sonja coming in third, with 58 baby girls given this spelling.
Pronounced SOHN-yuh.
As of October 2026, Sonja ranked #3966 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #180 in 1938.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #1,850 | 110 | 61.6 |
| 2015 | #2,206 | 86 | 48.2 |
| 2016 | #2,124 | 92 | 51.9 |
| 2017 | #2,567 | 69 | 40 |
| 2018 | #2,382 | 77 | 45.3 |
| 2019 | #2,284 | 80 | 47.7 |
| 2020 | #2,337 | 76 | 47 |
| 2021 | #2,579 | 68 | 41.4 |
| 2022 | #3,820 | 40 | 24.4 |
| 2023 | #2,697 | 65 | 40.5 |
| 2024 | #2,959 | 56 | 34.6 |
| 2025 | #3,966 | 37 | 23 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Sonja.
- Valma
- Marybeth
- Raffaela
- Jeanne
- Magda
- Lucya
- Meryl
- Idah
- Laurence
- Ester
- Cateline
- Hanne
- Timothée
- Irma
- Lucetta
- Yehudit
- Gerda
- Morgane
- Meredith
- Johannes
Sonja on lists
Famous Sonjas
- Sonja Haraldsen
Queen consort of Harald V of Norway
- Sonja Henie
Norwegian Olympic figure skater and actress
- Sonja Aldén
Swedish pop singer
- Sonja Kristina (born Sonja Christina Shaw)
English singer and actress
- Sonja de Lennart
German fashion designer who invented Capri pants
- Sonja Åkesson
Swedish poet
- Sonja Kolačarić
Serbian actress
- Sonja Morgan
American reality TV personality ("The Real Housewives of New York City")
- Sonja Mitrovic Hani
Serbian singer and producer
- Sonja Bakic
Serbian pop/rock singer
- Sonia Braga
Brazilian actress
- Sonja Christopher
American reality TV personality ("Survivor: Borneo")
- Sonja Kinski
daughter of actress Nastassja Kinski
- Sonja Reid aka OMGitsfirefoxx
Canadian YouTuber
Sonja in pop culture
- Sonja Martin
character in the Treasure Huntress book series.
- Sonja Stone
a main character of "The Beautiful Life"
- Red Sonja
fictional barbarian created by Robert E. Howard.
- Sonja
character in the Underworld film series
- Sonja
character in season 3 of 'SKAM'.