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 Sofia is most popular
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 Świętokrzyskie, 58% and 54% below average respectively.
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Lubusz88 girls born+67%
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West Pomeranian142 girls born+59%
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Masovian490 girls born+31%
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Lower Silesian211 girls born+27%
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Pomeranian198 girls born+27%
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Opole51 girls born+4%
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Greater Poland236 girls born+4%
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Silesian230 girls born−5%
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Lesser Poland210 girls born−13%
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Warmian-Masurian59 girls born−22%
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian89 girls born−23%
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Łódź101 girls born−25%
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Podlaskie48 girls born−31%
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Lublin56 girls born−49%
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Świętokrzyskie27 girls born−54%
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Subcarpathian53 girls born−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