| Sofia | Alexandra | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Wisdom | Defender of the people |
| Origin | greek | Greek |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | so-FEE-ah | al-ig-ZAN-druh |
| Syllables | 3 | 4 |
| First appeared | 1881 | 1894 |
| Peak year | 2015 (9,702) | 1993 (10,683) |
| In 2025 | 8,252 | 1,314 |
| Trend | Steady | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Sofia | Alexandra |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 45,288 | 9,421 |
| 2010s | 82,402 | 30,971 |
| 2000s | 43,380 | 61,253 |
| 1990s | 7,827 | 94,806 |
| 1980s | 2,643 | 34,817 |
| 1970s | 1,576 | 6,960 |
| 1960s | 898 | 3,244 |
| 1950s | 515 | 1,598 |
| 1940s | 380 | 1,169 |
| 1930s | 454 | 444 |
| 1920s | 628 | 370 |
| 1910s | 429 | 327 |
| 1900s | 166 | 58 |
| 1890s | 113 | 13 |
| 1880s | 45 | 0 |
From Greek 'sophia' (σοφία) meaning 'wisdom'. Long established as a given name honoring Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia).
Alexandra is the feminine of Alexander, from the Greek for “defender of the people.” It has long been a favourite among European royalty.
Sofia is more popular than Alexandra today: about 8,252 US babies were given the name Sofia in 2025, compared with 1,314 named Alexandra.
Sofia means Wisdom (greek origin), while Alexandra means Defender of the people (Greek origin).
In US records, Sofia first appears in 1881 and Alexandra in 1894, so Sofia has the longer recorded history.