| Sophia | Alexandra | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Wisdom | Defender of the people |
| Origin | Greek | Greek |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | so-FEE-uh | al-ig-ZAN-druh |
| Syllables | 3 | 4 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1894 |
| Peak year | 2012 (22,336) | 1993 (10,683) |
| In 2025 | 12,561 | 1,314 |
| Trend | Declining | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Sophia | Alexandra |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 74,758 | 9,421 |
| 2010s | 181,174 | 30,971 |
| 2000s | 119,251 | 61,253 |
| 1990s | 24,503 | 94,806 |
| 1980s | 10,823 | 34,817 |
| 1970s | 4,581 | 6,960 |
| 1960s | 4,908 | 3,244 |
| 1950s | 1,578 | 1,598 |
| 1940s | 1,054 | 1,169 |
| 1930s | 1,117 | 444 |
| 1920s | 3,277 | 370 |
| 1910s | 5,237 | 327 |
| 1900s | 2,460 | 58 |
| 1890s | 2,522 | 13 |
| 1880s | 1,865 | 0 |
Sophia is the Greek word for “wisdom,” long honoured in philosophy and in the Eastern Christian tradition of 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.
Sophia is more popular than Alexandra today: about 12,561 US babies were given the name Sophia in 2025, compared with 1,314 named Alexandra.
Sophia means Wisdom (Greek origin), while Alexandra means Defender of the people (Greek origin).
In US records, Sophia first appears in 1880 and Alexandra in 1894, so Sophia has the longer recorded history.