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". The name was popularised by a 1917 bestselling novel, Sonia: Between Two Worlds, by Stephen McKenna.
Sonya and its variations are occasionally found as surnames in England and the American eastern seaboard.
The name appears in multiple languages including Assyrian, Bengali, Bulgarian, Croatian, 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, 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.
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.
Sonja, Queen of NorwaySonia (Sonia Evans), English pop singerSONiA (Sonia Rutstein), American singer-songwriterSonia, alias of Omaira Rojas Cabrera, FARC-EP guerrilla memberSonja Bakić, Serbian pop/rock singerSônia Braga, Brazilian actressSonja Christopher, reality television starSonia Gandhi, President of the Indian National CongressSonya Hartnett, Australian writerSonja Henie (1912-1969), Norwegian figure skater and actressSonia Holleyman, creator, author and illustrator of Mona the Vampire.Sonia de Ignacio, Spanish field hockey playerSonja Lang, Canadian linguistSonja Morgan, Reality TV actress Real Housewives of New York CitySonia McMahon (1932-2010), Australian socialite, widow of William McMahonSonia O'Sullivan, Irish athleteSonia Rykiel, French designerSonya Scarlet, Singer of Italian band Theatres des VampiresSonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United StatesSonya Tayeh, American dancer and choreographerSonia Theodoridou, Greek soprano singerSonja Vectomov, Czech/Finnish composer/musicianSonja Vectomov, Czech/Finnish sculptorSonya Walger, actress best known as Lost's Penny WidmoreSonia Zober, American actressSonja Savic, Serbian actressRed Sonja, archetypal fierce and beautiful barbarianSonya (ソーニャ, Sōnya) in the Baby, Please Kill Me! Japanese four-panel mangaSonja in the Underworld series of vampire filmsSonya Belikova in Vampire Academy novelsSonya Blade in the Mortal Kombat series of video gamesSonia Fowler in British soap opera EastEndersSonya Herfmann, also known as Chanel #2, in the television series Scream QueensSonya Marmeladova in Crime and Punishment by Fyodor DostoyevskySonia Nevermind in Danganronpa 2: Goodbye DespairSonia Rey in Argentine telenovela Rebelde Way by Cris MorenaSonya Rostova in War and Peace by Leo TolstoySonya Ross in The Maze Runner novel seriesSonya Serebryakova in Uncle Vanya by Anton ChekhovSonia Ganguli in The Namesake by Jhumpa LahiriSonia Strumm, rock star in the Mega Man Star Force series of video games