Sonya and its variations are occasionally found as surnames in England and the American eastern seaboard. Sonya: is also spelt: Sonja, Sonia, Sonya: all have the same pronunciation

First Name

The name appears in multiple languages including English, Bulgarian, Russian, Romanian, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi, Hungarian, German, Scandinavian, Finnish, Slovene, Serbian, and Ukrainian.

Sonya has many variant spellings and related name forms, among them Sohnia, Sohnnja, Sondja, Sondya, Sonja, Sonje, Sonni, Sonnie, Sonnja, and Sonia. Sonya is variant of Sophia (Greek) which has 18 variant forms: Saffi, Sofia, Sofie, Soficita, Sofka, Sofy, Sofya, Sonia, Sonja, Sonnie, Sonya, Sophey, Sophie, Sophy, Zofia, Zofi, Zofya, and Zosia.

Slavic countries spell the name with the letter "j": Sonja, while many English speaking countries spell it with "i" or "y": Sonia or Sonya. These are only variations on the same name.

Outside Europe and European-influenced cultures, the Mayans of the fifteenth century named their main wives Sonya as a sign of respect, intelligence or sign that she is a virtuous woman. Mothers prayed that the name Sonya was placed on their daughter for anyone named Sonya is Strong, Independent and Wise.

Last Name

Sonya is a rare surname as it was not ranked for people of all ages in the 1990 U.S. Census. The spelling Sonya is of English descent. Spelling variations include: Sonning, Sonnin, Sonin, Soning, Sunning, Sunin, Souning, Sounin, Sonninges, Somin, Somings, and many more. 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.