Meaning & Origin
A female given name from Russian .
Sonia is a girl's and boy's baby name of Russian origin, a diminutive of Sofia, from the Greek sophia, meaning 'wisdom.' The name traveled westward through Slavic cultures before becoming fashionable across Europe and the Americas in the early 20th century.
In the United States, Sonia gained cultural prominence through Justice Sonia Sotomayor — the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice, appointed in 2009 — giving the name a powerful association with intellect and groundbreaking achievement. The Russian spelling Sonya and the German-Scandinavian Sonja are close relatives, each carrying slightly different cultural nuances.