Sofia
A variant of Zofia, from the Greek for "wisdom". Once uncommon, it's climbing fast: more girls got it last year than in any year before, though you'd still remember meeting one.
Sofia Pronunciation
Sofia is pronounced SOF-yah (/ˈsɔfja/).
What Sofia means
Where Sofia comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
The name Sofia comes from the Greek word sophia, wisdom. That single word did a great deal of work in the ancient world. Philosophy means love of sophia, and the great church in Constantinople, Hagia Sophia, was dedicated to Holy Wisdom rather than to any saint by that name.
In Italy the name settled early and stayed common, which is one reason many ears hear it as Italian. Poland kept its own spelling, Zofia, and its warm short form, Zosia. The variant Sofya travels further east. Read a Kraków class register today and you will likely find a Zofia sitting beside a Zosia who is the very same girl.
Wisdom is a heavy word. The name does not claim a newborn already has it. It names the quality and lets her grow toward it. Saint Sophia, remembered with her three daughters, gave the name a place in the calendar, so an imieniny returns each year to mark it.
Sofia, Zofia, Sofya, Zosia: four ways to say one Greek word for wisdom.
How many people are named Sofia
1 in 2873 women in Poland is named Sofia. 7,849 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #404 among female names.
Sofia's popularity over time
464 girls were given the name in 2025, ranking #117 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2002.
Where parents choose Sofia
Sofia is most popular in Lubusz, 67% above the national average (88 girls born 2019–2025), followed by West Pomeranian (+59%) and Masovian (+31%). It is least common in Subcarpathian and Holy Cross, 58% and 54% below average respectively.
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Lubusz
+67%1 in 564 babies
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West Pomeranian
+59%1 in 595 babies
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Masovian
+31%1 in 723 babies
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Subcarpathian
−58%1 in 2,275 babies
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Holy Cross
−54%1 in 2,053 babies
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Lublin
−49%1 in 1,833 babies
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Lubusz+67% 88 born1 in 564 babies+67%
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West Pomeranian+59% 142 born1 in 595 babies+59%
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Masovian+31% 490 born1 in 723 babies+31%
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Lower Silesian+27% 211 born1 in 745 babies+27%
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Pomeranian+27% 198 born1 in 744 babies+27%
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Opole+4% 51 born1 in 904 babies+4%
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Greater Poland+4% 236 born1 in 912 babies+4%
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Silesian−5% 230 born1 in 989 babies−5%
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Lesser Poland−13% 210 born1 in 1,081 babies−13%
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Warmian-Masurian−22% 59 born1 in 1,217 babies−22%
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian−23% 89 born1 in 1,229 babies−23%
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Łódź−25% 101 born1 in 1,255 babies−25%
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Podlaskie−31% 48 born1 in 1,371 babies−31%
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Lublin−49% 56 born1 in 1,833 babies−49%
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Holy Cross−54% 27 born1 in 2,053 babies−54%
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Subcarpathian−58% 53 born1 in 2,275 babies−58%
Sofia as a middle name
Sofia is a first name for 7,849 women in Poland and a middle name for another 1,614, an 83/17 split. In the women's middle-name ranking it sits 209th, between Rose (1,637) and Gizela (1,606).
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#207 Adelajda1,646
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#208 Rose1,637
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#209 Sofia1,614
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#210 Gizela1,606
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#211 Ada1,602