Sophia, also spelled Sofia, 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 ...

, from Greek Σοφία, '' Sophía'', "Wisdom". Other forms include

Sophie Sophie is a feminine given name, another version of Sophia, from the Greek word for "wisdom". People with the name Born in the Middle Ages * Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson * Soph ...

, Sophy, and Sofie.

History

The given name is first recorded in the beginning of the 4th century.

Popularity

Sophia is a common female name in the

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

countries. It became very popular in the West beginning in the later 1990s and became one of the most popularly given girls' names in the Western world in the first decades of the 21st century. Sophia was known as the personification of wisdom by early Christians and Saint Sophia is also an early Christian martyr. Both associations contributed to the usage of the name. The name was comparatively common in continental Europe in the medieval and early modern period. It was popularized in Britain by the German

House of Hanover The House of Hanover ( ) is a European royal house with roots tracing back to the 17th century. Its members, known as Hanoverians, ruled Hanover, Great Britain, Ireland, and the British Empire at various times during the 17th to 20th centurie ...

in the 18th century. It was repeatedly popularised among the wider population, by the name of a character in the novel '' Tom Jones'' (1794) by

Henry Fielding Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English writer and magistrate known for the use of humour and satire in his works. His 1749 comic novel ''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'' was a seminal work in the genre. Along wi ...

, in ''The Vicar of Wakefield'' (1766) by

Oliver Goldsmith Oliver Goldsmith (10 November 1728 – 4 April 1774) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish poet, novelist, playwright, and hack writer. A prolific author of various literature, he is regarded among the most versatile writers of the Georgian e ...

, and in the 1960s by Italian actress Sophia Loren (b. 1934). ''Sophia'' was comparatively popular in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th century; its use declined in the 1920s to 1950s; it became again moderately popular during the 1960s to 1980s. During the 1990s to the 2010s, the popularity of the name rose dramatically in many countries throughout the western world. Suggested influences for this trend include Sofía Vergara and

Sofia Coppola Sofia Carmina Coppola ( , ; born May 14, 1971) is an American filmmaker and former actress. She has List of awards and nominations received by Sofia Coppola, won an Academy Awards, Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, a Golden Lion, and a Can ...

(popular from the late 1990s) and Sofia Hellqvist (popular from the 2000s). ''Sophia'' and variants of the name remain among the most currently popularly given names for girls in countries across Europe as well as countries in North and South America, Australia, New Zealand, and others.SophiaSofia
(behindthename.com) In 2022, ''Sophia'' was the fifth most popular name given to girls in Canada, while ''Sofia'' was 13th.

Name variants

Greek Σοφία was adopted without significant phonological changes into numerous languages, as ''Sophia'' (German, and thence English) and ''Sofia'' (Romance languages, and thence also to Germanic languages and Finnish, etc.). The spelling ''Soffia'' is Icelandic and Welsh. Hungarian has ''Zsófia''. Modern Spanish uses the acute diacritic, ''Sofía''. South and East Slavic and Baltic languages have '' Sofija'' (Софија), '' Sofiya'' (София) and '' Sofya'' (Софья). West Slavic (Polish and Czech-Slovak) introduced a voiced sibilant, ''Zofia, Žofia, Žofie''. French has the (disyllabic) hypocoristic ''Sophie'', which was also introduced in German, Dutch/Flemish, English, and Scandinavian in the spelling ''Sofie'' and '' Sophy''. A Dutch hypocoristic is ''Sofieke''. Russian has the hypocoristic Соня (''Sonya''), which in the late 19th century was introduced to Western languages, in the spellings ''Sonya'', ''Sonia'' and ''Sonja'', via characters with this name in the novels '' Crime and Punishment'' 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'' 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). Turkish Safiye is from the unrelated Arabic Safiyya ( "pure"). Persian

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

( Persian: صوفیا) is from unrelated

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

, a sect of

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. People, fictional characters, and deities with the names include

Saints

* Saint Sophia of Milan, feast day 17 September * Saint Sophia of Rome, martyr, feast day 15 May * Saint Sophia of Sortino (Sicily), martyr, feast day 23 SeptemberPaul Guerin, ''Les petits Bollandistes vies des saints'' (1874)
p. 552
/ref> * Saint Sophia of Fermo (March of Ancona), feast day 30 April * Saints Sophia and Irene of Egypt (3rd century), feast day 4 June * Saint Sophia of Thrace (9th century), feast day 4 June * Saint Sofia of Suzdal (d. 1542), see Solomonia Yuryevna Saburova * Saint Sophia of Slutsk (d. 1612), see Sophia Olelkovich Radziwill

Royalty

Sofia

* Sofia of Bavaria Wittelsbach (1376–1425), Queen of Bohemia * Queen Sofía of Spain (born 1938), Queen consort of Spain * Princess Sofia, Duchess of Värmland (born 1984), wife of Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland * Infanta Sofía of Spain (born 2007), a Spanish princess

Sophia

* Sophia (530–c. 601), Byzantine empress *

Sophia of Minsk Sophia of Minsk or Sophia of Polotsk (died 5 May 1198) was a Danish queen consort by marriage to King Valdemar I of Denmark, and a landgravine of Thuringia by marriage to Louis III, Landgrave of Thuringia. Life Origin Sophia was the daughter of ...

(d. 1198), Danish queen * Sophia of Halshany (1405 -1461), Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania * Sophia Palaiologina (1455–1503), Grand Duchess of Moscow * Sophia Stuart (1606), daughter of James VI and I * Sophia of Hanover (1630–1714), heir to the English throne * Sophia Dorothea of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (1636–1689), German noblewoman * Sophia Alekseyevna (1657–1704), Russian regent * Sophia Dorothea of Celle (1666–1726), Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg, wife of George I of Great Britain * Sophia Dorothea of Hanover (1687–1757), Queen Consort of Prussia, daughter of George I of Great Britain * Sophia Magdalen of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (1700–1770), Queen consort of Denmark-Norway *

Princess Sophia Dorothea of Prussia Princess Sophia Dorothea of Prussia (; 25 January 1719 – 13 November 1765) was the ninth child and fifth daughter of Frederick William I of Prussia and Sophia Dorothea of Hanover. By marriage, she was a Margravine of Brandenburg-Schwedt. ...

(1719–1765), daughter of Frederick William I of Prussia and Sophia Dorothea of Hanover * Margravine Sophia Dorothea of Brandenburg-Schwedt (1736–1798), Duchess of Württemberg * Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1758–1794), Princess and Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin * Princess Augusta Sophia of the United Kingdom (1768–1840), Duchess of Brunswick and Lüneburg * Princess Sophia of the United Kingdom (1777–1848), British princess * Princess Sophia of Gloucester (1773–1844), British princess * Sophia Sidney, Baroness De L'Isle and Dudley (1796–1837), daughter of William IV * Sophia of Nassau (1836–1913), Queen Consort of Sweden and Norway * Sophia of Prussia (1870–1932), Queen consort of Greece

Other versions

* Safiye Sultan (1550–1619), wife of Murad III, mother of Mehmed III; originally named Sofia * Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark (1914–2001), later Princess of Hesse, Princes of Hannover * Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh (born 1965), wife of Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh

Arts and entertainment

* Sofia (Swedish singer) (nee Sofia Berntson), Swedish singer * Sophia Abrahão (born 1991), Brazilian actress * Sofia Achaval de Montaigu, Argentine fashion model * Sophia Agranovich, Ukrainian-American pianist, recording artist and music educator * Sophia Aliberti (born 1963), Greek actress and TV presenter * Sofia Andres (born 1998), Filipina actress and commercial model * Sofia Barclay (born 1988), English actress * Sofía Bozán (1904–1958), Argentine actress and dancer * Sofía Camará (born 1991), Argentine drag performer * Sofia Carson (born 1993), American singer and actress * Sofiko Chiaureli (1937–2008), Georgian actress *

(born 1971), American actress and director * Sofia Crespo (born 1991), Argentine visual artist * Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen (1919–2004), Portuguese poet * Sophia Baddeley (1745–1786), English actress *

Sophia Bush Sophia Anna Bush (born July 8, 1982) is an American actress. She starred as List of One Tree Hill characters#Brooke Davis, Brooke Davis in The WB/The CW, CW drama series ''One Tree Hill (TV series), One Tree Hill'' (2003–2012), and as Erin Li ...

(born 1982), American actress * Sophia Di Martino (born 1983), English actress * Sofia Djama, Algerian film director * Sofie Dossi (born 2001), American contortionist * Sophia Dussek (1775–1831), Scottish composer * Sofia Essaïdi (born 1984), Franco-Moroccan singer * Sophia Forero (born 1967), American jewelry designer * Sofía Gala (born 1987), Argentine actress * Sofie Gråbøl (born 1968), Danish actress, known for '' The Killing'' * Sofia Gubaidulina (born 1931), Russian-Tatar composer * Sophia Peabody Hawthorne (1809–1871), American painter * Sofia Hayat (born 1974), British-Indian model and actress * Sophia Jex-Blake (1840–1912), English physician * Sofia Karlsson (singer) (born 1975), Swedish musician * Sophia Karp (1861–1904), Romanian actress * Sophia Kokosalaki (1972–2019), Greek fashion designer * Sophia Laforteza (born 2002), Filipino-American singer, dancer and member of global pop group KATSEYE * Sophia Laskaridou (1882–1965), Greek artist * Sophia Lee (1750–1824), English novelist * Sophia Lillis (born 2002), American actress * Sophia Loren (born 1934), Italian actress * Sofia Martins de Sousa (1870–1960), Portuguese painter * Sophia McDougall (born 1979), British author * Sophia Michahelles (born 1976), American puppeteer * Sofia Milos (born 1969), Swiss actress * Sophia Myles (born 1980), English actress * Zofia Nałkowska (1884–1954), Polish writer, author of ''Medallions'' * Sofia Pablo (born 2006), Filipina actress and commercial model * Sophia Yakovlevna Parnok (1885–1933), Russian poet * Sofía Reca (born 1984), Argentine actress * Sofía Recondo (born 1985), Argentine actress * Sofia Rei, Argentine musician * Sophia Reid-Gantzert (born 2010), Canadian actress and dancer * Sofia Reyes (born 1995), Mexican singer and songwriter * Sophia Romero, American writer * Sofia Rotaru (born 1947), Ukrainian singer * Sofia Samatar (born 1971), Somali-American writer * Sofie Sarenbrant (born 1978), Swedish author * Sophia Senoron (born 1999), Filipino actress, host, model and a beauty pageant titleholder * Sophia Sergio (born 1992), Italian beauty pageant titleholder *

Sofia Shinas Sofia Shinas (born January 17, 1968) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, actress and director."Dream comes true for Shinas". '' Windsor Star'', May 28, 1994. Shinas entered the entertainment industry as a recording artist and later pursued acting ...

(born 1968), Canadian artist * Sofia Tarasova (born 2001), Ukrainian singer and actress * Sofía Tartilán (1829–1888), Spanish writer * Sophie Turner (born 1996), English Actress * Sofia Vembo (1910–1978), Greek singer *

Sofia Vassilieva Sofia Vladimirovna Vassilieva (born October 22, 1992) is an American actress. Notable roles include portraying the children's book character Eloise (books), Eloise in ''Eloise at the Plaza'' and ''Eloise at Christmastime'', Ariel DuBois in the ...

(born 1992), American actress * Sofía Vergara (born 1972), Colombian model and actress * Sofia Vicoveanca (born 1941), Romanian folk singer * Sofía von Ellrichshausen (born 1976), Argentine architect and artist * Sophia Vossou (born 1961), Greek singer * Sofia Wylie (born 2004), American actress * Sophia Yan (born 1986), American classical pianist * Sofie Zamchick (born 1994), American singer and actress * Sofía Zámolo (born 1983), Argentine model, actress and TV presenter

Politics

* Sophia Aggelonitis, Canadian politician * Sofia Amloh (born 1986), Swedish politician * Sofía Brambilla (born 1980), Argentine politician * Sophia Chan (born 1958), Hong Kong professor and politician * Sofía Cid (born 1971), Chilean politician * Sophia Leung (born 1933), Canadian politician * Sofie Lippert (born 1995), Danish politician * Sophia Lvovna Perovskaya (1853–1881), Russian revolutionary * Sofia Manzano (born 1971), Brazilian politician * Sofie Merckx (born 1974), Belgian politician * Sophie Scholl (1921–1943), German student and anti-Nazi political activist

Science

Sophia Brahe Sophia (or Sophie) Thott Lange (; 24 August 1559 or 22 September 1556probably in 1559 following , some others scholars give 1556, both dates match his horoscope (Det Kongelige Bibliotek). – 1643), known by her maiden name, was a Danish noble ...

(1556–1643), Danish astronomer * Sophia Drossopoulou, Greek computer scientist * Sophia Eckerson (1880–1954), American botanist and microchemist * Sophia Getzowa (1872–1946), Belarusian-Israeli pathologist and scientist * Sofia Merajver (born 1953), Argentine medical oncologist

Sports

* Sofia Akateva (born 2007), Russian figure skater * Sofia Akhmeteli (born 1981), Georgian alpine skier * Sofia Arvidsson (born 1984), Swedish tennis player * Sofia Asoumanaki (born 1997), Greek rower * Sofia Bekatorou (born 1977), Greek sailor and Olympic gold medalist * Sophia Braun (born 2000), Argentine footballer * Sofía Cairó (born 2002), Argentine field hockey player * Sophia Diagne (born 1998), Senegalese swimmer * Sophia Ellis (born 1996), British powerlifter * Sophia Flörsch (born 2000), German racing driver * Sofia Goggia (born 1992), Italian World Cup alpine ski racer * Sofía Gómez Villafañe (born 1994), Argentine biker * Sofia Gonzalez (born 2001), Swiss Paralympic athlete * Sophia Elizabeth Herzog (born 1997), American swimmer * Sofia Huerta (born 1992), American professional soccer player * Sofia Iosifidou (born 1981), Greek water polo player * Sofia Jakobsson (born 1990), Swedish footballer * Sofia Kenin (born 1998), American tennis player * Sophia Koggouli (born 1991), Greek footballer * Sofia Konukh (born 1980), Russian water polo player * Sofía Luini (born 1992), Argentine tennis player * Sofía Maccari (born 1984), Argentine field hockey player * Sofía MacKenzie (born 1972), Argentine field hockey player * Sophia Morgan, Fijian sailor * Sofía Mulánovich (born 1983), Peruvian surfer * Sofia Muratova (1929–2006), Russian gymnast * Sofia Muravieva (born 2006), Russian figure skater * Sofia Papadopoulou (born 1983), Greek sailor * Sophia Papamichalopoulou (born 1990), alpine skier who represented Cyprus * Sofia Polgar (born 1974), Hungarian-born Israeli and Canadian chess grandmaster * Sophia Poor (born 2006), English association footballer * Sofía Ramallo (born 2001), Argentine field hockey player * Sofia Riga, Greek runner * Sofia Sakorafa (born 1957), Greek javelin thrower and politician * Sofia Samodelkina (born 2007), Russian figure skater * Sofia Samodurova (born 2002), Russian figure skater * Sofía Sánchez (born 1989), Argentine synchronized swimmer * Sofia Tekela-Smith (born 1970), New Zealand artist * Sofia Thøgersen (born 2005), Danish runner * Sofia Tikhonova (born 1998), Russian ski jumper * Sofía Toccalino (born 1997), Argentine field hockey player * Sofía Usandizaga (born 1970), Argentine sailor * Sofya Velikaya (born 1985), Russian Olympic fencer * Sofía Villarroya (born 1992), Argentine field hockey player * Sophia Warner (born 1974), Paralympian track and field athlete from England * Sofia Yfantidou (born 1985), Greek track and field athlete

Other fields

* Sofia Berezanska (1924–2024), Ukrainian archeologist * Sophia Hayden Bennett (1868–1953), American architect * Sophia Collier (born 1956), American entrepreneur * Sofia Gatica (born 1967), Argentine environmentalist * Sofía Heinonen, Argentine conservationist * Sophia Orne Johnson (1826–1899), American journalist and non-fiction author * Sofia Kovalevskaya (1850–1891), Russian mathematician * Sophie Lancaster (1986–2007), English murder victim * Sophia Lösche, German murder victim * Sophia Elizabeth Peeters (1833–1916), Dutch ethnologist who published Wase folklore * Sofia Richie (born 1998), American fashion model, daughter of Lionel Richie * Sophia D. Stoddard (1820–1891), American educator * Sophia Wellbeloved, Irish historian, artist, and teacher

Fictional characters

* Sophia Aubrey, from the Aubrey-Maturin series of novels by Patrick O'Brian * Sofia Constantinas, from the comic ''Wonder Woman'' * Sofia Cordova, main character from the animated TV show ''

Sofia the First ''Sofia the First'' is an American animated fantasy children's television series created and developed by Craig Gerber (creator), Craig Gerber for Disney Television Animation and Disney Jr. The series follows a young peasant girl named Sofia, ...

'' * Sofia Curtis, from the TV series ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' * Sofia Dupre, on the American soap opera ''

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in the fictional Genoa City (named after the real-life Genoa City, Wiscon ...

'' * Sophia Esteed, from the video game '' Star Ocean: Till the End of Time'' * Sophia Forrester, from the animated TV series ''Last Exile'' * Sophia Hapgood, from the video game ''Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis'' * Sofia Johnson, from film '' The Color Purple'' * Sofia Lamb, from the video game '' BioShock 2'' * Sophia Lopez, from the TV series ''Nip/Tuck'' * Sophia Peletier, from the TV series and comic books '' The Walking Dead'' * Sophia Marlowe, from the TV series '' Girlboss'' * Sophia Petrillo, from the TV series ''The Golden Girls'' * Sofia Petrovna, from the novel of the same name * Sofia Porter, in the

Meta Runner ''Meta Runner'' is an Australian independent-animated eSports action drama web series created by Kevin and Luke Lerdwichagul. Produced by Glitch Productions, with funding support from Screen Australia, Crunchyroll, AMD, and Epic Games. The ...

internet series * Sofia Sartor from the video game '' Assassin's Creed: Revelations'' * Sofia Serrano from the film '' Vanilla Sky'' * Mother Sophia, a key historical figure in the video game '' Xenogears'' * Sofia Torres, from the TV series ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series focusing on the personal and professional lives of surgical internship (medicine), interns, residency (medicine), residents, and attending physician, attendings at the fictional ...

'' * Sophia Tutu, a character from the animated TV series '' The Raccoons'' * Sophia Western, main heroine of the novel '' The History of Tom Jones'' * Sophia, a playable character from '' Fire Emblem: Fūin no Tsurugi'' * Sophia, from the video game '' Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box'' * Sophia, a character who fuses demons for the protagonist in '' Shin Megami Tensei V'' * Sophia, in the 2008 Indian film '' Race'', played by Katrina Kaif * SOPHIA, a tank in the video game '' Blaster Master''

References

External links

NamepediA Blog - The Journey of the Name Sophia
{{given name Greek feminine given names Feminine given names Bulgarian feminine given names English feminine given names Spanish feminine given names Italian feminine given names Russian feminine given names Slovak feminine given names Romanian feminine given names Given names of Greek language origin Lists of people by given name