Sofiya

Russian, Ukrainian and Bulgarian form of SOPHIA.

SOPHIA   female   English, Greek, German, Ancient Greek
Means "wisdom" in Greek. This was the name of an early, probably mythical, saint who died of grief after her three daughters were martyred during the reign of the emperor Hadrian. Legends about her probably arose as a result of a medieval misunderstanding of the phrase Hagia Sophia "Holy Wisdom", which is the name of a large basilica in Constantinople.

This name was common among continental European royalty during the Middle Ages, and it was popularized in Britain by the German House of Hanover when they inherited the British throne in the 18th century. It was the name of characters in the novels 'Tom Jones' (1749) by Henry Fielding and 'The Vicar of Wakefield' (1766) by Oliver Goldsmith. A famous bearer is the Italian actress Sophia Loren (1934-).
EQUIVALENTS
ANCIENT GREEK: Sophia
BULGARIAN: Sofiya
CATALAN: Sofia
CROATIAN: Sofija
CZECH: Sofie, Žofie
DANISH: Sofie
DUTCH: Sofie, Sophie
ENGLISH: Sophia, Sophie
ESTONIAN: Sofia
FINNISH: Sofia, Sohvi
FRENCH: Sophie
GEORGIAN: Sopio
GERMAN: Sofia, Sofie, Sophia, Sophie
GREEK: Sofia, Sophia
HUNGARIAN: Zsófia
ICELANDIC: Soffía
ITALIAN: Sofia
LATVIAN: Sofija
LITHUANIAN: Sofija
MACEDONIAN: Sofija
NORWEGIAN: Sofia
POLISH: Zofia
PORTUGUESE: Sofia
ROMANIAN: Sofia
RUSSIAN: Sofiya, Sofya
SERBIAN: Sofija
SLOVAK: Sofia, Žofia
SPANISH: Sofía
SWEDISH: Sofia
UKRAINIAN: Sofiya
DIMINUTIVES AND SHORT FORMS
CROATIAN: Sonja
CZECH: Soňa
DANISH: Sonja, Vivi
DUTCH: Sonja
ENGLISH: Sonia, Sonya, Sophy
FINNISH: Sonja
GERMAN: Sonja, Sonje
HUNGARIAN: Szonja, Zsófika
ICELANDIC: Sonja
ITALIAN: Sonia
MACEDONIAN: Sonja
NORWEGIAN: Sonja, Vivi
POLISH: Zosia
PORTUGUESE: Sonia
ROMANIAN: Sonia
RUSSIAN: Sonya
SERBIAN: Sonja
SLOVAK: Soňa
SLOVENE: Sonja
SPANISH: Sonia
SWEDISH: Sonja, Vivi
OTHER FORMS
ANCIENT GREEK: Sophos, Sophus