Given name · also Latin

Sofonias

Sofonias is a masculine given name from Latin, ultimately from Hebrew. It is used in Portuguese.

Original Hebrewצפניה

Meaning & origin

Where it comes from

Sofonias comes from Latin, and ultimately from Hebrew.

Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)

How it developed

In Portuguese usage, Sofonias developed from צפניה.

The story

Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 2022. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.

From dated birth records

Sofonias through the years

Babies since 1880
7
7 boys · 0 girls
Most popular year
2022
7 babies
2025
0
Outside the ranked list
2021–25 vs 2016–20
—
Too few births to compare
02462025Highest share 20220.0
Sofonias in U.S. Social Security birth records, 2022–2025, per million boys born. Years with fewer than five births for a sex are not published and appear as zero. Use the arrow keys to step through years.

By the numbers

The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 7 in 2022. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 129 as a first name in 2020.

From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.

Sofonias’s family of names

In Portuguese usage, Sofonias developed from the Hebrew form צפניה. In Portuguese usage, Sofonias has a conventional equivalent in the Dutch form SEFANJA. In Portuguese usage, Sofonias has a conventional equivalent in the German form Zephanja.

Walk Sofonias’s family in the name graph

SofoniasSophoniasSófóníasZephaniahSefanjaצפניהСофонияZephanja

Inner ring: spellings · outer: across languages.

Hover or tab through the constellation to see how each name is related. Bigger dots are names more people in the U.S. share.

Around the world

Sofonias has relatives in 4 languages. Lines run from its Hebrew roots to each of them.

Hebrew

Hebrewwhere Sofonias comes from · 1 name

Each dot marks where a language is rooted, not where people with the name live today. Bigger dots hold more names. Language locations from Glottolog (CC BY 4.0); map from Natural Earth.

Spellings & scripts 2

The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.

Across languages 5

Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.

Similar names

If you love Sofonias, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.

Hebrew · Modern

Jehoshaphat

“Yahweh” · “to judge”

0Not recently recorded

>99% boys

Hebrew · Modern

Ozer

“assistant, helper”

0Not recently recorded

>99% boys

Hebrew · Modern

Oseias

Oseias is a masculine given name from Hebrew. It is used in Portuguese.

29RareEasing

>99% boys

Basque · Modern

Kepa

“as solid as a stone”

0Not recently recorded

>99% boys

Hebrew · Modern

Abdias

“servant of God”

30RareSteady

>99% boys

Latin · Modern

Carpenter

“one who makes carriages”

0Not recently recorded

>99% boys

Hebrew · Modern

Younus

Younus is a surname from Arabic, ultimately from Hebrew.

21RareRising fast

>99% boys

Hebrew · Modern

Gioele

Gioele is a masculine given name from Hebrew. It is used in Italian.

0Not recently recorded

>99% boys

Sibling ideas

Names that share Sofonias’s feel without repeating its first letter or rhyming with it.

A brother for Sofonias

A sister for Sofonias