Name of the Week

Sweet, sparky Sophie has been a perennial British
favourite for decades.

 

Origin:

Sophie is the Anglicised, French and Dutch form of the Ancient Greek name Sophia (σοφία) meaning "wisdom, insight, intelligence" and from which we get English words sophistication and philosophy. To the ancient Greeks, Sophia was personified as a goddess and was one of Plato's four cardinal virtues. For early Christians Hagia Sophia "Holy Wisdom" was a personification and attribute atrributed to Jesus Christ.

Usage:

Originally in Britain, Sophie (or more commonly Sophy) was adopted in the 17th century as a diminutive for Sophia -- which was traditionally pronounced so-FĪ-ə in Britain (and still is in some areas).  Good examples of this can be seen in Jane Austen's Persuasion (1817), in which Captain Wentworth's sister Sophia Croft (so-FĪ-ə) is affectionately called "Sophy." There is also Sophia "Sophy" Wackles in Charles Dicken's The Old Curiosity Shop (1840) or Pre-Raphaelite muse Sophia "Sophy" Gray (1843–1882).  Before this, Sophie was used as a variation of Sophia in Europe, particularly among German and Dutch aristocracy and royalty, with the final 'e' pronounced much like we would say Sophia today.  According to Leslie Dunkling, Sophia was #50 in the most popular girls names in England and Wales in 1700 and #21 in 1800. It is almost impossible to tell how popular Sophy/Sophie was at this time as it was often used as a shortform of Sophia rather than as the formal given name. Data from The Surname Atlas In the 19th century Sophie and Sophy never made it into the top 200 most popular names though both forms were used consistently (if uncommonly) in their own right, averaging around 40 births each per year in England and Wales. By the end of the century, perhaps thanks to French influence, Sophie was the more common spelling.  The 1881 UK census listed 2492 females with the name Sophie and 996 with the name Sophy. In terms of distribution, the name was used particularly in the South East of England and Southern Scotland around Fife and Midlothian.  In the 20th century, Sophie was still uncommon for several decades until it began to pick up usage in the 1970s. This can be seen in Dunkling's data for the number of girls registered with the name Sophie in every 10,000 births in England and Wales over the 20th century:  1900 1925  1935  1950  1955  1960  1965  1970  1975  1980  1985  1990     -    2     -     -     -     2     -     9    10     20    36   164 In 1974 Sophie moved into the top 100 in England and Wales for the first time at #85. By 1984 it was #38 and hit the top 10 at #6 in 1994, reaching #1 in 1996.  Since then, Sophie has stayed within the top 10 reaching its lowest rank of #9 in 2012 and 2013.  Sophie was not in the top 100 of Scotland in 1975 (when it had been rising in England) and had only just hit the #10 by 1999. However, it flourished in the 2000s, ranking #1 from 2005 to 2013.  [Provisional data for 2014 suggests that Emily has replaced Sophie at #1 but this will be confirmed in March]. In Northern Ireland, Sophie first hit the top 10 in 2004 at #3, rising to #2 in 2008 and 2009, and was #1 in 2010, 2011 and 2012. In 2013 it ranked #3.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1628-1685), Queen consort of Denmark-Norway. * Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg (1759–1828), second wife of Tsar Paul I of Russia. * Sophie Blanchard (1778-1819), French balloonist. * Princess Sophie of Bavaria (1805–1872), mother of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. * Sophia "Sophy" Gray (1843–1882), Scottish-born model for her brother-in-law, the pre-Raphaelite painter, John Everett Millais. Contemporary: * Sophie, Countess of Wessex (b. 1965), wife of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex. * Sophie Marceau (b.1966), French actress. * Sophie Dahl (b.1977), British fashion model and author. * Sophie Ellis-Bextor (b.1979), British singer. Literature and Other Media: * Sophia "Sophy" Croft, a character in Jane Austen's Persuasion. * Sophia "Sophy" Wackles, a character in Charles Dicken's The Old Curiosity Shop. * Sophy Crewler, a character in Charles Dicken's David Copperfield. * Sophie, the main character in Roald Dahl's The BFG, named after his granddaughter Sophie Dahl.

Variants:

Sophy (English), Sofie (Dutch, German, Scandinavian), Žofie (Czech), Sohvi (Finnish)

Pronunciation:

SŌ-fee [key]

Possible  Diminutives:

Fifi, Soph

Sibling Names:

Olivia     Emily     Lucy     Amelia     Grace     Charlotte   James     Luke     Oliver     Harry     Joshua     George

Name Lists:

Royal Names of Europe   Jane Austen Names   Dickensian Names   Bronte Names   Enid Blyton Names

 

If you like Sophie you may also like:  Lily, Amelie, Isabelle, Ava, Chloe, Ruby, Leah, Freya, Ella, Poppy

 

Thanks to K for requesting this post.