Sonia is a feminine

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

in many areas of the world including

the West West is a cardinal direction or compass point. West or The West may also refer to: Geography and locations Global context * The Western world * Western culture and Western civilization in general * The Western Bloc, countries allied with NAT ...

, Russia, Iran, and

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

. Sonia and its variant spellings Sonja and Sonya are used in many countries, including Russia, as a diminutive for '' Sofiya'' (Greek ''Sophia'' "Wisdom"). The name was popularised in the English-speaking world by characters in the novels ''

Crime and Punishment ''Crime and Punishment'' is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published in the literary journal '' The Russian Messenger'' in twelve monthly installments during 1866.

'' by

Fyodor Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian literature, Russian and world literature, and many of his works are consider ...

(1866, English translation 1885) and ''

War and Peace ''War and Peace'' (; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, the work comprises both a fictional narrative and chapters in which Tolstoy discusses history and philosophy. An ...

'' by

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...

(1869, English translation 1886), and later by a 1917 bestselling novel, ''Sonia: Between Two Worlds'', by Stephen McKenna. Scandinavian countries spell the name with the letter ''j'': Sonja, while many English speaking countries spell it with ''i'' or ''y'': Sonia or Sonya. Although the most common English pronunciation is , and are also possible.

Notable people

Queen Sonja of Norway Sonja (born Sonja Haraldsen; 4 July 1937) is Queen of Norway as the wife of King Harald V. Sonja and the then Crown Prince Harald had dated for nine years prior to their marriage in 1968. They had kept their relationship a secret due to the ...

(born 1937) * Sonia, alias of Omaira Rojas Cabrera (born 1967), FARC-EP guerrilla member * Sonya, cover name of the Soviet spy

Ursula Kuczynski Ursula Kuczynski (15 May 1907 – 7 July 2000), also known as Ruth Werner, Ursula Beurton and Ursula Hamburger, was a German Communist activist who spied for the Soviet Union during the 1930s and 1940s, most famously as the handler of nuclear sc ...

(1907–2000) * Sonia Balassanian (born 1942), Iranian-born Armenian painter, sculptor, and curator * Sonja Bakić (born 1984), Serbian pop/rock singer *

Sonja Barjaktarović Sonja Barjaktarović (born 11 September 1986) is a retired Montenegrin handball goalkeeper. She was the first goalkeeper of the Montenegro women's national handball team and helped them to win the silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics ...

(born 1986), Montenegrin handball goalkeeper * Sonia Ben Ammar (born 1999), French-Tunisian model * Sonia Bermúdez Robles (born 1955), Colombian thanatologist *

Sonja Berndt Sonja Ingrid Berndt is an American pharmacologist and cancer epidemiologist who researches non-Hodgkin lymphoma, prostate cancer, and anthropometric traits that are cancer risk factors. She is a senior investigator in the occupational and environ ...

, American pharmacologist and cancer epidemiologist *

Sônia Braga Sônia Maria Campos Braga (; born 8 June 1950) is a Brazilian actress. She is known in the English-speaking world for her Golden Globe Award–nominated performances in ''Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985 film), Kiss of the Spider Woman'' (1985) a ...

(born 1950), Brazilian actress *

Sonia Cheng Sonia Cheng Chi-Man (traditional Chinese: 鄭志雯; simplified Chinese: 郑志雯) is a Hong Kong business executive. She is the CEO of Rosewood Hotel Group and the executive director of the New World Development. She is also the vice-chairman of ...

, Hong Kong business executive *

Sonja Christopher ''Survivor'' is an American reality television show, based on the Swedish program '' Expedition Robinson''. Contestants are referred to as "castaways", and they compete against one another to become the "Sole Survivor" and win one million U.S. do ...

, American ''Survivor'' contestant *

Sonia Couling Sonia Couling (also spelled Sonia Cooling, Sonya Couling or Sonya Cooling) (; June 18, 1974 in Bangkok, Thailand), nickname Pim (; ), is a Thai model, actress and television personality. She has appeared in many Thai films and TV shows, been a ...

(born 1974), Thai model, actress and TV personality *

Sonia Darrin Sonia Darrin (born Sonia Paskowitz; June 16, 1924 – July 19, 2020) was an American film actress, best known for her role as Agnes Lowzier in ''The Big Sleep'' (1946). Early years Darrin was born to Louis and Rose Paskowitz, the New York-born o ...

(1924–2020), American film actress *

Sonia Disa Mary Felicia Perera (born June 7, 1944, සෝනියා දිසා) inhala, popularly as Sonia Dissanayake or known professionally as Sonia Disa, is a former actress in Sri Lankan cinema. Starting her career in 1962, Disa became one of th ...

(born 1944), Sri Lankan Sinhala cinema actress *

Sonya Eddy Sonya Eddy (June 17, 1967 – December 19, 2022) was an American actress. She was best known for playing Epiphany Johnson in the American American Broadcasting Company, ABC soap opera ''General Hospital'' (2006—2022) for which she won a posthu ...

(1958–2022), American actress *

Sonia Evans Sonia Evans (born 13 February 1971), known mononymous person, mononymously as Sonia, is an English pop music, pop singer from Liverpool. She had a 1989 UK number one hit with "You'll Never Stop Me Loving You" and became the first female UK arti ...

(born 1971), English pop singer *

Sonia Fergina Citra Sonia Fergina Citra (born 27 April 1993) is an Indonesian model and beauty pageant titleholder who won Puteri Indonesia 2018. She represented her country at the Miss Universe 2018 pageant held in at IMPACT Arena, Muang Thong Thani in Nontha ...

(born 1993), Indonesian beauty pageant titleholder who won Puteri Indonesia 2018 *

Sonja Fransson Sonja Ingrid Mildred Fransson (born 1949) is a Swedish politician and former member of the Riksdag, the national legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such ...

(born 1949), Swedish politician *

Sonia Gandhi Sonia Gandhi (, ; ; born 9 December 1946) is an Indian politician. She is the longest-serving president of the Indian National Congress, a big-tent liberal political party, which has governed India for most of its post-independence history. ...

(born 1946), Indian politician, president of the Indian National Congress 1998–2017 and 2019–2022 *

Sonya Haddad Sonya Haddad (November 9, 1936 – June 15, 2004) was a libretto translator and surtitler for the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Life and career Haddad was born in Canton, Ohio, on November 9, 1936, and grew up in Akron. She graduated from th ...

(1936–2004), American translator and surtitler *

Sonya Hartnett Sonya Louise Hartnett (born 23 March 1968) is an Australian author of fiction for adults, young adults, and children. She has been called "the finest Australian writer of her generation". For her career contribution to "children's and young adu ...

(born 1968), Australian writer *

Sonja Henie Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 – 12 October 1969) was a Norway, Norwegian figure skating, figure skater and film star. She was a three-time List of Olympic medalists in figure skating, Olympic champion (Figure skating at the 1928 Winter Olympics, ...

(1912–1969), Norwegian figure skater and actress * Sonia Holleyman, British creator, author and illustrator of ''Mona the Vampire'' * Sonia E. Howe (1871–19??), Russian essayist * Sonia de Ignacio (born 1971), Spanish field hockey player * Sonia Ilinskagia (1938– 2024), Greek-Russian writer, translator and professor *

Sonya Isaacs Sonya Melissa Isaacs (born July 22, 1974) is an American country, bluegrass gospel and Christian music singer. Isaacs grew up near Morrow, Ohio, and graduated from Little Miami High School in 1992. Her maternal grandparents are Polish Jewis ...

(born 1974), American Country/Christian singer-songwriter *

Sonya Jeyaseelan Sonya Jeyaseelan (born April 24, 1976) is a Canadian former professional tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is No. 48, which she reached in December 2000. Her career-high ranking in doubles is world No. 40, achieved on 16 October 20 ...

, Canadian tennis player *

Sonia Kacem Sonia Kacem (born 1985) is a Swiss visual artist, of Swiss and Tunisian descent. She is known for her sculptures and installation art. She has lived in both Amsterdam, and Geneva. Biography Sonia Kacem was born in 1985 in Geneva, Switzerland. ...

(born 1985), Swiss visual artist *

Sonya Koshkina Kseniia Mykytivna Vasylenko (; born July 8, 1985), better known by the pen name Sonya Koshkina ();, is a Ukraine, Ukrainian journalist, who is also co-owner and editor-in-chief of the Electronic publishing, online publication, LB.ua. Early life ...

(born 1985), Ukrainian journalist, editor-in-chief *

Sonja Kovač Sonja Kovač (born 18 June 1984) is a Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to th ...

(born 1984), Croatian actress and model *

Sonja Kristina Sonja Kristina (born Sonia Christina Shaw; 14 April 1949) is a British singer and songwriter, best known for starring in the original London production of the seminal 1960s musical ''Hair'', and for being the lead vocalist of the 1970s progres ...

(born Sonia Christina Shaw), English singer, vocalist for

Curved Air Curved Air are an English progressive rock group formed in 1970 by musicians from mixed artistic backgrounds, including classical, folk and electronic sound. The resulting sound of the band is a mixture of progressive rock, folk rock, and fu ...

Sonija Kwok Sonija Kwok Sin-nei (, born 22 July 1974) is a Hongkonger actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder who worked with TVB from 1999 to 2015. Since 2015 she has been managed by GAIA Entertainment. Early life Kwok was born in Hong Kong and ...

(born 1974), Hong Kong actress *

Sonja Lang Toki Pona (; , , translated as 'the language of good') is a Philosophical language, philosophical, Artistic language, artistic, constructed language designed for its small vocabulary, simplicity, and ease of acquisition. It was created by Canadia ...

, Canadian linguist who constructed the language

Toki Pona Toki Pona (; , , translated as 'the language of good') is a Philosophical language, philosophical, Artistic language, artistic, constructed language designed for its small vocabulary, simplicity, and ease of acquisition. It was created by Canadia ...

* Sonia Lo (born 1992), Hong Kong windsurfer *

Sonia Manzano Sonia Manzano (born June 12, 1950) is an American actress, writer and speaker. She is best known for playing Maria on ''Sesame Street'' from 1971 to 2015. She received a Lifetime Achievement Daytime Emmy Award in 2016. Her memoir, ''Becoming ...

, American actress * Sonia Mazey (born 1958), New Zealand

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

academic * Sonja McCullen, American judge *

Sonja Morgan Sonja Morgan (née Tremont; born November 25, 1963) is an American television personality, socialite, entrepreneur and philanthropist. She is popularly known for her starring role on the Bravo reality television series '' The Real Housewives of ...

, American television personality, ''The Real Housewives of New York City'' *

Sonia McMahon Sonia Rachel, Lady McMahon (née Hopkins; 1 August 19322 April 2010), was an Australian socialite and philanthropist. She was the wife of Sir Billy McMahon, who served as Prime Minister of Australia from 1971 to 1972 and the mother of actor Jul ...

(1932–2010), Australian socialite, widow of William McMahon *

Sonia Singh Sonia Singh is an Indian television actress. She is known for her role as Dr. Keerti Mehra in Star One's '' Dill Mill Gayye'', Richa Thakral in '' Parichay'', Sushma "Sush" in '' Bhabhi'' and Antara in ''Kumkum – Ek Pyara Sa Bandhan '' ...

(born 1964), Indian television actress * Sonia O'Sullivan (born 1969), Irish athlete * Sonia Opoku, Ghanaian footballer *

Sonia Peres Sonia Peres was the wife of President and Prime Minister of Israel, Shimon Peres. Sonia served in the British Army during World War II, and for many years volunteered anonymously for sick children and the disabled. She married Shimon in May 194 ...

(1923–2011), wife of Israel's Prime Minister and President

Shimon Peres Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...

* Sonia Purnell, British writer and journalist *

Sonia Rutstein Disappear Fear (stylized as ''disappear fear'') is an American indie pop/indie folk/ Americana/world beat band formed in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1987. Biography Disappear Fear is a songwriter, a band, a visual artist named Sonia Rutstein. Soni ...

, American musician of the band ''Disappear Fear'' *

Sonia Rykiel Sonia Rykiel (; ; 25 May 1930 – 25 August 2016) was a French fashion designer and writer. She created the Poor Boy Sweater, which was featured on the cover of French ''Elle'' magazine. Her knitwear designs and new fashion techniques led her t ...

(1930–2016), French designer *

Sonja Savić Sonja Savić ( sr-Cyrl, Соња Савић; 15 September 1961 – 23 September 2008) was a Serbian actress, famous for her husky voice and series of impressive roles in some of the most memorable Yugoslav films of 1980s and 1990s. She was born ...

(1961–2008), Serbian actress * Sonya Scarlet (born 1980), singer of Italian band Theatres des Vampires * Sonja Smets, Belgian and Dutch logician *

Sonia Sotomayor Sonia Maria Sotomayor (, ; born June 25, 1954) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 26, 2009, and has served since ...

(born 1954), Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States *

Sonya Tayeh Sonya Tayeh is a New York City-based choreographer. She has worked nationally and internationally across the worlds of dance and theater. She has earned several accolades for her work, including the Tony award for her choreography work on the B ...

, American dancer and choreographer *

Sonya Tayurskaya Sofiya Alekseevna Tayurskaya (; born 1 May 1991, Irkutsk, RSFSR, USSR) is a Russian vocalist for the punk-rave group Little Big. Biography Tayurskaya was born on 1 May 1991 in Irkutsk, but she and her family moved to Novodvinsk (in Arkhan ...

(born 1991), Russian singer, member of Little Big * Sonia Theodoridou (born 1958), Greek soprano singer * Sonja Vasić (née Petrović; born 1989), Serbian basketball player *

Sonja Vectomov Sonja Vectomov (born 21 May 1979) is a Czech- Finnish electronic musician and composer who descends from a family rooted in the classical music world.Poncar, M."Sonja Vectomov právě vydala album ''Lamprophrenia''" Techno.cz, Sep 26, 2016. Vec ...

(born 1979), Czech/Finnish composer/musician * Sonja Vectomov (sculptor), Czech/Finnish sculptor *

Sonya Walger Sonya Walger (born June 6, 1974) is a British and American actress. She had a starring role in the HBO sitcom '' The Mind of the Married Man'' (2001–2002) before landing her role as Penny Widmore in the ABC drama series '' Lost'' (2006–20 ...

(born 1974), English actress best known as ''Lost''s Penny Widmore * Zonja Wallen-Lawrence (1892–1986), Swedish-American biochemist, nutritionist

Fictional characters

Red Sonja Red Sonja is a sword-and-sorcery character created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Barry Windsor-Smith for Marvel Comics in 1973, partially inspired by Robert E. Howard's character Red Sonya of Rogatino. A warrior from the Hyborian Age of Ear ...

, archetypal fierce and beautiful barbarian * in the '' Baby, Please Kill Me!'' Japanese four-panel manga *Sonya in the ''

Heroes of the Storm ''Heroes of the Storm'' is a multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment. Announced at BlizzCon 2010, it was released on June 2, 2015 for macOS and Windows. The game features various crossover ...

'', a video game by Blizzard Entertainment * Sonja in the ''Underworld'' series of vampire films * Sonya Belikova in ''

Vampire Academy ''Vampire Academy'' is a series of six young adult fiction, young adult paranormal romance novels by American author Richelle Mead. It tells the story of Rosemarie "Rose" Hathaway, a dhampir girl, who is training to be a guardian of her moroi be ...

'' novels * Sonia Belmont in '' Castlevania Legends'', from the ''Castlevania'' series *

Sonya Blade Sonya Blade is a character in the ''Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. She debuted in the original 1992 game as the roster's sole female fighter, a military officer with the Special Forces. In the st ...

in the ''Mortal Kombat'' series of video games * Sonia Cruz, a character in the Netflix series'' Grand Army'' *

Sonia Fowler Sonia Fowler (also Jackson) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Natalie Cassidy. Her first appearance was on and she departed on She returned briefly in 2010 along with other members of the Jackson fami ...

in British soap opera ''EastEnders'' * Sonia Ganguli in '' The Namesake'' by Jhumpa Lahiri * Sonya Herfmann, also known as Chanel #2, in the television series ''Scream Queens'' * Sonya Marmeladova in ''

'' by Fyodor Dostoevsky * Sonia Nevermind in '' Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair'' *

Sonya Rebecchi Sonya Rebecchi (also Mitchell) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'', played by Eve Morey. The actress auditioned for the role and began filming in June 2009. She made her first screen appearance during the episod ...

in the Australian soap opera ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons and ...

'' * Sonia Rey in Argentine telenovela ''

Rebelde Way ''Rebelde Way'' is an Argentine telenovela created and produced by Cris Morena. It was originally broadcast on El Nueve, Azul Televisión from 27 May 2002 to 10 November 2003. The soap opera has been broadcast in many countries, achieving widesp ...

'' by Cris Morena * Sonya Rostova, character in ''War and Peace'' by Leo Tolstoy and the musical based on it, ''Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812'' * Sonya Ross in ''The Maze Runner'' novel series * Sonia Solandres in ''

The Pink Panther 2 ''The Pink Panther 2'' is a 2009 American comedy-mystery film directed by Harald Zwart. It is the eleventh installment in ''The Pink Panther'' film series and the sequel to the 2006 film ''The Pink Panther'', a reboot of the popular comedy series ...

'' * Sonya Serebryakova in ''

Uncle Vanya ''Uncle Vanya'' ( rus, Дя́дя Ва́ня, r=Dyádya Ványa, p=ˈdʲædʲə ˈvanʲə) is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897, and first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre, directed by Konstan ...

'' by Anton Chekhov * Sonia Strumm, rock star in the ''Mega Man Star Force'' series of video games * Sonia Virena in television anime '' Symphogear AXZ'' * Sonia, a character from the game ''

Pokémon Sword and Shield and are 2019 role-playing video games developed by Game Freak and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch console. They are the first instalments in the 8th generation of the Pokémon (video game series), ''Pok� ...

'' * Sonja, a character from the game ''

Advance Wars ''Advance Wars'' is a turn-based strategy video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. It is the seventh title in the Wars (series), ''Wars'' series of video games, and the first in the ''Advanc ...

'' * Sonia, a character from the 1907 English Play ''

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' ( ) is an operetta by the Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The Libretto, librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein (writer), Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's ...

'' * Queen Sonia, a character and the first queen of the kingdom of Hyrule in the video game '' The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom''

Pen name

* Sonia, pen name of the Italian journalist

Ottavia Vitagliano Ottavia Vitagliano (née: Mellone; 1894–1975) was an Italian writer, editor and publisher. The daughter of Igino Mellone and Giulia Piacentini, she was born in Milan. She became manager for her own publishing house and founded and edited various ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sonia (Name) Feminine given names Russian feminine given names Romanian feminine given names Italian feminine given names Spanish feminine given names Portuguese feminine given names Slavic feminine given names Polish feminine given names

Notable people

Fictional characters

Pen name

See also

Notes