Boys' name · peaked in 2025
Sonny name popularity since 1925
22,906 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Sonny (4.5% girls, 95.5% boys). Half of them were born in 1995 or earlier, so the typical Sonny is about 31 years old in 2026. Sonny peaked in 2025 as the #298 name for boys, and it ranked #298 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 22,906
- Named Sonny, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #298
- for boys in 2025 (1,137 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 95.5% boys
- 1,029 girls · 21,877 boys
- Most popular in
- California
- 2.10× its national share
Peak year is the year Sonny made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Sonny births per year, 1925–2025
2025 was the biggest year for Sonny both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Steepest fall: Between 1989 and 1994, Sonny's share of baby boys fell by 44%, from 1 in 6,950 to 1 in 12,400.
- Fastest rise: Between 2019 and 2024, it became 2.6× more common, from 1 in 4,300 baby boys to 1 in 1,660.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Sonny's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Sonny.
Decade by decade
Babies named Sonny in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 0 | 245 | – |
| 1930s | 0 | 1,084 | #469 |
| 1940s | 6 | 1,201 | #609 |
| 1950s | 24 | 1,309 | #658 |
| 1960s | 17 | 1,413 | #671 |
| 1970s | 69 | 2,517 | #428 |
| 1980s | 121 | 2,288 | #623 |
| 1990s | 123 | 1,838 | #791 |
| 2000s | 104 | 2,232 | #799 |
| 2010s | 232 | 2,806 | #825 |
| 2020–25 | 333 | 4,944 | #298 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
33.1% of babies named Sonny from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen Alpha years (2013–2025). The full split by generation:
Where Sonny is most popular
The index compares Sonny's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Sonny.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| California | 2.10× | 3,743 |
| Arizona | 2.04× | 445 |
| Texas | 1.74× | 2,296 |
| Oklahoma | 1.40× | 307 |
| Kentucky | 1.23× | 346 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Sonny's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Sonny.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Sonny (2025).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data