Sonia (name)
Sonia | |
---|---|
Pronunciation | /ˈsɒniə/[1] SO-ni-ə |
Gender | Feminine |
Language(s) | Russian, Hindi |
Origin | |
Meaning | Wisdom |
Region of origin | Russia, India |
Other names | |
Related names | Sophia |
Sonia is a feminine given name in many areas of the world including the West, Russia, Iran, and South Asia. Sonia and its variant spellings Sonja and Sonya are variations on Sophia, a Greek name meaning "wisdom".[2] The name was popularised by a 1917 bestselling novel, Sonia: Between Two Worlds, by Stephen McKenna.[2]
Sonya and its variations are occasionally found as surnames in England and the American eastern seaboard.
First name
The name appears in multiple languages including Assyrian, Bengali, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, English, Finnish, German, Greek, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Macedonian, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish, and Ukrainian.
Sonia has many variant spellings and related name forms, among them Sonea, Sonja, Sonje, Sonni, Sonnie, Soňa, Sonnjea, and Sonya. Scandinavian countries spell the name with the letter j: Sonja, while many English speaking countries spell it with i or y: Sonia or Sonya.
Although the most common English pronunciation is /ˈsɒniə/, /ˈsɒnjə/, /ˈsoʊniə/, and /ˈsoʊnjə/ are also possible.[1]
As a last name
Sonya is an uncommon surname of English origin. Spelling variations include Sonning, Sonnin, Sonin, Soning, Sunning, Sunin, Souning, Sounin, Sonninges, Somin and Somings. The surname Sonya was first located in Berkshire where they were anciently seated as Lords of the Manor. Some of the first American settlers named Sonya or some of its variants migrated in the mid-17th century to the eastern seaboard. Migrants eventually settled in Newfoundland, Maine, Virginia, The Carolinas and the islands.[3]
Notable people with this name
- Sonja, Queen of Norway
- Sonia (Sonia Evans), English pop singer
- SONiA (Sonia Rutstein), American singer-songwriter
- Sonia, alias of Omaira Rojas Cabrera, FARC-EP guerrilla member
- Sonja Bakić, Serbian pop/rock singer
- Sônia Braga, Brazilian actress
- Sonja Christopher, reality television star
- Sonia Disa, Sri Lankan actress
- Sonia Gandhi, President of the Indian National Congress
- Sonya Hartnett, Australian writer
- Sonja Henie (1912-1969), Norwegian figure skater and actress
- Sonia Holleyman, creator, author and illustrator of Mona the Vampire.
- Sonia de Ignacio, Spanish field hockey player
- Sonja Lang, Canadian linguist
- Sonja Morgan, Reality TV actress Real Housewives of New York City
- Sonia McMahon (1932-2010), Australian socialite, widow of William McMahon
- Sonia O'Sullivan, Irish athlete
- Sonia Rykiel, French designer
- Sonya Scarlet, Singer of Italian band Theatres des Vampires
- Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States
- Sonya Tayeh, American dancer and choreographer
- Sonia Theodoridou, Greek soprano singer
- Sonja Vectomov, Czech/Finnish composer/musician
- Sonja Vectomov, Czech/Finnish sculptor
- Sonya Walger, actress best known as Lost's Penny Widmore
- Sonia Zober, American actress
- Sonja Savic, Serbian actress
Fictional characters
- Red Sonja, archetypal fierce and beautiful barbarian
- Sonya (ソーニャ Sōnya) in the Baby, Please Kill Me! Japanese four-panel manga
- Sonja in the Underworld series of vampire films
- Sonya Belikova in Vampire Academy novels
- Sonia Belmont in Castlevania Legends, from the Castlevania series
- Sonya Blade in the Mortal Kombat series of video games
- Sonia Fowler in British soap opera EastEnders
- Sonya Herfmann, also known as Chanel #2, in the television series Scream Queens
- Sonya Marmeladova in Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- Sonia Nevermind in Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair
- Sonia Rey in Argentine telenovela Rebelde Way by Cris Morena
- Sonya Rostova in War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
- Sonya Ross in The Maze Runner novel series
- Sonya Serebryakova in Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov
- Sonia Ganguli in The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
- Sonia Strumm, rock star in the Mega Man Star Force series of video games
- Sonia Virena in television anime Symphogear AXZ
- Sonia the Duck in Disney's "Peter and the wolf"
Notes
- 1 2 Jones, Daniel; Gimson, Alfred C. (1977) [1917]. Everyman's English Pronunciation Dictionary. Everyman's Reference Library (14 ed.). London: J. M. Dent & Sons. ISBN 0-460-03029-9.
- 1 2 Martin-Doyle, Katie (1999). The Treasury of Baby Names. Cambridge: Worth Press. p. 240. ISBN 978-1-903025-11-6.
- ↑ "Sonya Family Crest, Coat of Arms and Name History". HouseOfNames.com. Swyrich Corporation. Retrieved 31 December 2015.