Sonny

sunny

English

"son"

Sonny Origin and Meaning

The name Sonny is a boy's name meaning "son".

Sonny is one of the generic boy nickname names making a surprise reappearance, and it was recently used by actor Jason Lee. Another surprise: It's been on the US Top 1000 list every year since 1927, and as of 2023, it entered the Top 400 for the first time. Laidback Sonny is also popular in the UK, New Zealand and Australia.

Most celebrities who've gone by Sonny have had a formal birth name, including Sonny Bono (born Salvatore), Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Purdue (George Ervin), boxer Sonny Liston (Charles), and jazz musician Sonny Rollins (Theodore Walter). Even fictional Sonny Crockett on Miami Vice was born James.

Sonny Rank in US Top 1000

# 354 in the US

Sonny Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 196 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Sonny

• 354 US 2023
• 196 Nameberry 2025
• 86 Future 2035
• 56 England 2023
• 44 Scotland 2024
• 38 Ireland 2024
• 45 Australia 2024

20 Names Similar to Sonny

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Sonny.

• Murphy
• Frankie
• Shepherd
• Booker
• Bo
• Fisher
• Foster
• Judd
• Hank
• Cal
• Rex
• Watson
• Boone
• Teddy
• Smith
• Huck
• Rudy
• Mac
• Ozzy
• Harvey

Famous People Named Sonny

• Salvatore Phillip "Sonny" Bono American singer and U.S. Congressman from California
• Charles L. "Sonny" Liston American boxer
• Sonny William "Sonny Bill" Williams New Zealand rugby player
• Sonny Douglas Gray American baseball pitcher
• Edward "Sonny" Stitt American jazz saxophonist
• Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins American jazz tenor saxophonist
• Edwin Bradfield Liloa "Sonny" Chillingworth American guitarist
• George Ervin "Sonny" Perdue III American politician; 81st Governor of Georgia
• Sonny John Moore aka Skrillex American electronic music producer
• Sonny Corey Uwaezuoke aka Sonny Digital American rapper
• Sonny Sanford Rosenman (b. 2017) son of American television personality Whitney Port
• Sonny Ashcroft son of musicians Kate Radley of Spiritualized and Richard Ashcroft of The Verve
• Sonny Jones (b. 2004) son of musicians Sophie Ellis,Bextor and Richard Jones
• Sonny Miller (b. 2006) son of actors Belinda Stewart,Wilson and Ben Miller
• Sonny Patrick MacDonald Gallagher son of musician Noel Gallagher of Oasis
• Sonny Lee (born 2012) son of actor Jason Lee and Ceren Alkac
• Sonny White (b. 2013) son of musician Jason White of Green Day
• Sonny Donald Blake (b. 2014) son of actors Hamish Blake & Zoe Foster
• Lyric Sonny Roads Goldberg (b. 2014) son of Soleil Moon Frye and Jason Goldberg
• Sonny Grigg (b. 2014) son of Australian rules footballer Shaun Grigg
• Sonny John Ray (b. 2016) son of singer Brooke White and David Ray
• Otis Sonny David Macdonald son of Leah Wood & Jack Macdonald

The name Sonny in Pop Culture

• Sonny St. Jacques character on TV's 'Laverne & Shirley'
• Sonny Corinthos characteron the American soap General Hospital
• Sonny Forelli villain of the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
• Santino "Sonny" Corleone character from "The Godfather"
• Sonny Koufax character in movie "Big Daddy"
• Sonny Joon character in HerInteractive's "The Shattered Medallion"
• Sonny character from the Broadway musical "In The Heights"
• Sonny Grotowski character in film "Monster's Ball"