Sonja
A Scandinavian and German spelling of Sonia, tracing back to the Greek for "wisdom". In Poland it stays rare: only about 300 women carry this exact form, so most Poles have never met one.
Sonja Pronunciation
Sonja is pronounced SON-yah (/ˈsɔnja/).
What Sonja means
Where Sonja comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Sonja comes from the Greek word sophia, wisdom. In Scandinavia and Germany it took shape as a short form of Sophia, and it reached Polish speakers with its close relatives Sonia and Sonya. The meaning stayed put: mądrość.
That short word did real work in real lives. The Norwegian skater Sonja Henie won three Olympic titles between 1928 and 1936, then built a film career in Hollywood. Queen Sonja of Norway has carried the name in public life since her marriage in 1968. Each Sonja borrows a little from these bearers and adds her own record.
On a Polish class register, Sonia turns up more often than Sonja, the j giving way to an i. Both point back to the same Greek root. The wisdom in a name is a promise nobody can guarantee, and Sonja keeps it anyway by meaning mądrość.
How many people are named Sonja
1 in 74402 women in Poland is named Sonja. 303 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #1736 among female names.
Sonja's popularity over time
Fewer than 2 girls were given the name in 2025. It has been stable for a decade.
Sonja as a middle name
Sonja is a first name for 303 women in Poland and a middle name for another 48, an 86/14 split. In the women's middle-name ranking it sits 997th, between Solange (48) and Swietłana (48).
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#995 Ngọc48
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#996 Solange48
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#997 Sonja48
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#998 Swietłana48
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#999 Witolda48