Popularity of the name Sophia, 1880–2025
Sophia was at its most popular in 2012, when 22,336 girls were given the name: about 1 in 79 girls born in the U.S. that year, ranking #1. In 2025, 12,561 girls were named Sophia, ranking #5. In all, Social Security counts 439,108 girls named Sophia since 1880. Social Security’s records also list 511 boys named Sophia.
- Peak year
- 2012
- Rank in 2012
- #1
- Babies in 2012
- 22,336
- Rank in 2025
- #5
- Total since 1880
- 439,108
Where it stands now
Over the last ten years it has slipped from #3 in 2015 to #5 in 2025, with 17,454 girls named Sophia in 2015 and 12,561 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Sophia ranked highest in the 2010s, at #3, with 181,174 girls given the name that decade. It ranked #132 in the 1880s and #5 in the 2020s so far.
Every 20 years in the records: 138 in 1880 (#117), 259 in 1900 (#197), 545 in 1920 (#279), 105 in 1940 (#675), 261 in 1960 (#622), 641 in 1980 (#366), 6,564 in 2000 (#42) and 13,105 in 2020 (#4).
Highs and lows
The most girls given the name in a single year was 22,336, in 2012. Its best rank in any year was #1, first reached in 2011.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1880 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 girls named Sophia, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 138 | #117 |
| 1881 | 122 | #130 |
| 1882 | 179 | #116 |
| 1883 | 159 | #129 |
| 1884 | 170 | #134 |
| 1885 | 185 | #134 |
| 1886 | 218 | #128 |
| 1887 | 192 | #136 |
| 1888 | 251 | #136 |
| 1889 | 251 | #138 |
| 1890 | 245 | #144 |
| 1891 | 220 | #153 |
| 1892 | 241 | #162 |
| 1893 | 247 | #159 |
| 1894 | 276 | #156 |
| 1895 | 259 | #164 |
| 1896 | 278 | #160 |
| 1897 | 278 | #162 |
| 1898 | 240 | #188 |
| 1899 | 238 | #180 |
| 1900 | 259 | #197 |
| 1901 | 221 | #186 |
| 1902 | 256 | #179 |
| 1903 | 213 | #197 |
| 1904 | 230 | #195 |
| 1905 | 237 | #197 |
| 1906 | 247 | #194 |
| 1907 | 265 | #197 |
| 1908 | 276 | #203 |
| 1909 | 256 | #222 |
| 1910 | 271 | #237 |
| 1911 | 272 | #238 |
| 1912 | 397 | #225 |
| 1913 | 429 | #232 |
| 1914 | 548 | #229 |
| 1915 | 692 | #226 |
| 1916 | 697 | #232 |
| 1917 | 698 | #235 |
| 1918 | 629 | #256 |
| 1919 | 604 | #261 |
| 1920 | 545 | #279 |
| 1921 | 489 | #299 |
| 1922 | 390 | #331 |
| 1923 | 369 | #342 |
| 1924 | 357 | #364 |
| 1925 | 289 | #402 |
| 1926 | 234 | #442 |
| 1927 | 240 | #447 |
| 1928 | 195 | #494 |
| 1929 | 169 | #525 |
| 1930 | 152 | #553 |
| 1931 | 133 | #572 |
| 1932 | 132 | #569 |
| 1933 | 103 | #646 |
| 1934 | 107 | #648 |
| 1935 | 101 | #654 |
| 1936 | 98 | #666 |
| 1937 | 104 | #666 |
| 1938 | 88 | #731 |
| 1939 | 99 | #680 |
| 1940 | 105 | #675 |
| 1941 | 107 | #678 |
| 1942 | 81 | #853 |
| 1943 | 104 | #758 |
| 1944 | 104 | #747 |
| 1945 | 103 | #734 |
| 1946 | 107 | #796 |
| 1947 | 108 | #842 |
| 1948 | 112 | #821 |
| 1949 | 123 | #779 |
| 1950 | 109 | #842 |
| 1951 | 153 | #706 |
| 1952 | 110 | #878 |
| 1953 | 129 | #809 |
| 1954 | 113 | #905 |
| 1955 | 152 | #780 |
| 1956 | 121 | #914 |
| 1957 | 188 | #730 |
| 1958 | 226 | #659 |
| 1959 | 277 | #595 |
| 1960 | 261 | #622 |
| 1961 | 324 | #546 |
| 1962 | 486 | #438 |
| 1963 | 524 | #424 |
| 1964 | 471 | #452 |
| 1965 | 509 | #414 |
| 1966 | 589 | #376 |
| 1967 | 603 | #367 |
| 1968 | 548 | #392 |
| 1969 | 593 | #385 |
| 1970 | 582 | #402 |
| 1971 | 590 | #385 |
| 1972 | 486 | #405 |
| 1973 | 455 | #429 |
| 1974 | 387 | #465 |
| 1975 | 380 | #486 |
| 1976 | 366 | #496 |
| 1977 | 432 | #457 |
| 1978 | 409 | #476 |
| 1979 | 494 | #423 |
| 1980 | 641 | #366 |
| 1981 | 1,235 | #211 |
| 1982 | 1,161 | #224 |
| 1983 | 1,196 | #210 |
| 1984 | 1,082 | #235 |
| 1985 | 1,098 | #236 |
| 1986 | 1,060 | #245 |
| 1987 | 1,124 | #238 |
| 1988 | 1,166 | #225 |
| 1989 | 1,060 | #254 |
| 1990 | 1,124 | #250 |
| 1991 | 1,263 | #225 |
| 1992 | 1,355 | #211 |
| 1993 | 1,498 | #196 |
| 1994 | 1,614 | #185 |
| 1995 | 1,765 | #168 |
| 1996 | 2,513 | #125 |
| 1997 | 3,640 | #94 |
| 1998 | 4,308 | #73 |
| 1999 | 5,423 | #53 |
| 2000 | 6,564 | #42 |
| 2001 | 7,162 | #37 |
| 2002 | 8,665 | #27 |
| 2003 | 9,687 | #20 |
| 2004 | 10,919 | #15 |
| 2005 | 12,678 | #12 |
| 2006 | 13,503 | #9 |
| 2007 | 17,031 | #6 |
| 2008 | 16,091 | #7 |
| 2009 | 16,951 | #4 |
| 2010 | 20,656 | #2 |
| 2011 | 21,863 | #1 |
| 2012 | 22,336 | #1 |
| 2013 | 21,255 | #1 |
| 2014 | 18,644 | #3 |
| 2015 | 17,454 | #3 |
| 2016 | 16,185 | #4 |
| 2017 | 14,947 | #5 |
| 2018 | 14,013 | #5 |
| 2019 | 13,821 | #4 |
| 2020 | 13,105 | #4 |
| 2021 | 12,585 | #6 |
| 2022 | 12,382 | #5 |
| 2023 | 11,999 | #5 |
| 2024 | 12,126 | #6 |
| 2025 | 12,561 | #5 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.