Sonya

S1O1N1Y4A1
US/ˈsoʊn.jə/US/ˈsɑn.jə/

proper noun

A female given name from Russian Соня (Sonja).

Originru,uk Со́ня ← Ancient Greek σοφία →
Less commonScrabble 8
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Meanings

proper noun

alternative Sonia

  1. A female given name from Russian Соня (Sonja).

    It was Valery who had named her firstborn Sonya, after the figure skater Sonja Henie. "She moves through space so smoothly! She has such freedom!" she explained to Ray, the child's father. "Anything you want, honey," he replied, with a half-smile.

    1983, Sheila Ballantyne, Imaginary Crimes, Penguin Group USA, →ISBN
    1 more example

    He said nothing, then asked, “Is Sonya your real name?” “Harinderjeet.” “A good name. A strong name.” He could see her face in the bar's surface, frowning as she returned the card to her purse. “Is Sonya not a nice name?” He felt her leaning in. “A sexy name?”

    2016, Sunjeev Sahota, The Year of the Runaways: A novel, Vintage, →ISBN

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekσοφία“wisdom”
  2. ru,ukСо́ня
  3. EnglishSonya

Borrowed from Russian and Ukrainian Со́ня (Sónja), an informal pet form of Со́фья (Sófʹja), Софі́я (Sofíja) or Софи́я (Sofíja, “Sofia, Sophia”), from the Ancient Greek σοφία (sophía, “wisdom”). It was introduced into English through 19th century Russian literature and taken into general use in early twentieth century.

More words from ru,uk, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic صونيا
  • صونياfemale given name
Brazilian Portuguese Sônia
  • Sôniafemale given name
Czech Soňa
  • Soňafemale given name
Danish Sonja
  • Sonjafemale given name
European Portuguese Sónia
  • Sóniafemale given name
Finnish Sonja
  • Sonjafemale given name
French Sonia
  • Soniafemale given name
German Sonja
  • Sonjafemale given name
Greek Σόνια
  • Σόνια (Sónia)female given name
Hungarian Szonja
  • Szonjafemale given name
Italian Sonia
  • Soniafemale given name
Norwegian Sonja
  • Sonjafemale given name
Russian Со́ня
  • Со́ня (Sónja)female given name
Spanish Sonia
  • Soniafemale given name
Swedish Sonja
  • Sonjafemale given name
Ukrainian Соня
  • Соня (Sonja)female given name

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

sayonAysonyanos
Cite this entry
APA

Sonya. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Sonya

MLA

“Sonya.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Sonya. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Sonya,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Sonya.

Source: Sonya on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.