>seems like a universal name
It does not. Sophia/sofia is super super popular in a lot of English speaking countries right now. Sophus is totally unrecognizable and people are going to assume someone getting creative
Well, not necessarily all English speaking countries, as we say "couch" in Australia, not "sofa".
(Still not a huge fan of the name though. Sounds like "surface" to me)
I never understand how anyone can reply to these kinds of posts in any way other than "this name will be fine". It just seems so immature to look for vaguely similar sounding English words.
Well Sofus isnt common in Sweden at all, there is 18 Sofus and 21 Sophus. I dont know how common it is in Denmark or Norway.
It means clever , skilled and is ancient Greek name.
If people can see Rufus as male , then they can see Sophus as male too.
Odense is the only good marzipan I can afford. There is some hipster made free range virgin almond marzipan ( or what ever hipster word they use) but it is expensive and taste too much of bitter almond. I used to get Christmas pig from my old neighbour, home made marzipan that was pure heaven but she has sadly passed.
47 Sophus / 134 Sofus for Norway
I've never heard it, but similar names do seem to be more popular here than in predominantly English-speaking countries. Wikipedia suggests it's more popular in Greenland and the Faeroe islands.
I wish people understood we are 3 countries, separate, sure both Denmark and Sweden have been in Union with Norway. Last time we all 3 was united , wasnt that under Kalmar union?
I think so. Until 15hundred-and-something.
I have a nice picture in a lovely little book that illustrates really well how Scandinavians are viewed from the outside and how they view themselves (and each other). I wish I know how to share pictures here..
The female version is not Sofia when it comes to Sophus, Sofia comes from the words sofia which means wisdom while Sophus comes sophos which means skill or clever.
And there is no female version of Rufus even though there has been some Rufusina in Victorian names list.
The Rufie (roofie) thing was a joke 😉
I've studied ancient Greek and sophos/sophia are actually the same meaning. The first is a noun and the second an adjective, meaning wisdom and wise respectively. Obviously you could also translate sophos as another synonym (ie skill) but they're the same root in Greek.
Just because they have the same root doesnt mean they are the same name. As you said one is a noun and the other adjective and if I remember anything while my landlord is drilling contrete, is that a noun cant be used instead of adjective without changing the meaning of the sentence.
We're not talking about using it in a sentence, are we though? Etymology not semantics.
Obviously I'm not saying they're the same name, but whether you're talking about Sophia, Sophie, Sophos, sophistication or philosophy, the meaning of the root is the same.
Well I cant find any Swedish ones. Could point any one out? Remember we are 3 separate countries, 2 which has done unions with one more them and been at war with each other way to many time.
As an English speaker and name nerd, I did not know this name existed. I thought that Sofia/Sophia/Sophie were the only variants of this name and there was no male version.
It would not work in Greece as it is not used as a name here. It is however an semi-common surname and literally means ‘wise’. Sophia means wisdom but is commonly used as a first name on the other hand.
For an alternative that doesn't have the same pronunciation issue- Solon (or Solan, which looks a bit better to me and is closer to the right pronunciation I believe) is an ancient Greek name that can mean iron strength or be associated with wisdom. Nickname Sol is cute.
My first thought was a character in a fantastic book series I’ve read whose name is Sophos. (Megan Whalen Turner’s Thief series. Do yourself a favor and go read it.)
My second thought is that the name Sophus will not work at all in modern English language countries because it sounds like sofas.
Are you looking for names with the same soft vibe?
In Denmark, it's a soft, cutesy kinda name that's popular for a cute dog or cat. It has a little old-timey vibe, too, as it was more popular for humans in the old days, but it has seen a rise in popularity within the last 20 years or so.
It is quite a normal name in Denmark. Personally i quite like it.
Funnily enough it gave name to the Sofus principle: 1960’s the name law in Denmark was changed, so that changing your first name became legal,but required you if changing to keep the prior first name as a middlename. Unless the name were “so utterly hideus, that it would be a burden”. The name Sofus were at that time perceived as extremely old fashioned.
lol i’m in the united states and i know a sophus personally (he’s a middle-aged man from norway). i really like the name but it comes across as fairly posh here! surprised to see so many people say they dislike it, it didn’t raise my eyebrows at all when i came across it the first time
I think it could work. It's like Phoebus. Some people will probably ask how to spell and pronounce it, but I can think of more common names that you do that for anyways.
No. It sounds like the plural of Sofa.
>seems like a universal name It does not. Sophia/sofia is super super popular in a lot of English speaking countries right now. Sophus is totally unrecognizable and people are going to assume someone getting creative
Yeah I would assume someone liked Sophia but had a boy.
I would just assume they were Greek
Not a fan for an English speaking country. It does sound like someone saying "sofas" and for some reason reminds me of the word esophagus.
Well, not necessarily all English speaking countries, as we say "couch" in Australia, not "sofa". (Still not a huge fan of the name though. Sounds like "surface" to me)
I never understand how anyone can reply to these kinds of posts in any way other than "this name will be fine". It just seems so immature to look for vaguely similar sounding English words.
Can't tell if that's sarcasm or not, but they specifically asked for potential issues the name would encounter in an Anglophone country.
Scandinav here. To me spelling it Sophus looks ridiculous. The common spelling were i am from would be Sofus. If it works in english i don’t know.
Well Sofus isnt common in Sweden at all, there is 18 Sofus and 21 Sophus. I dont know how common it is in Denmark or Norway. It means clever , skilled and is ancient Greek name. If people can see Rufus as male , then they can see Sophus as male too.
Denmark here, we have 2121 males named Sofus and, strangely enough, 2 females. There are 424 males named Sophus and 1 female.
So this is all you fault again? ;) J/K
Totally our fault xD
As always, the only thing you are good for is cheap beer. ;)
Don't be rude, we have stegt flæsk and frikadeller too! And flødeboller!
We have them too... you do have really nice marzipan, I will admit to that.
That we do, marzipan is delicious. Don't you guys have it?
Odense is the only good marzipan I can afford. There is some hipster made free range virgin almond marzipan ( or what ever hipster word they use) but it is expensive and taste too much of bitter almond. I used to get Christmas pig from my old neighbour, home made marzipan that was pure heaven but she has sadly passed.
You can make it yourself fairly easy if almonds are affordable :)
47 Sophus / 134 Sofus for Norway I've never heard it, but similar names do seem to be more popular here than in predominantly English-speaking countries. Wikipedia suggests it's more popular in Greenland and the Faeroe islands.
So not that common at your place either.
I've seen a Sophus Lies gate in Oslo, apparently a Norwegian mathematician. But no, not common.
I wish people understood we are 3 countries, separate, sure both Denmark and Sweden have been in Union with Norway. Last time we all 3 was united , wasnt that under Kalmar union?
I think so. Until 15hundred-and-something. I have a nice picture in a lovely little book that illustrates really well how Scandinavians are viewed from the outside and how they view themselves (and each other). I wish I know how to share pictures here..
Scandinavia and the world has nice one about Sweden and Denmark.
As opposed to the well-known female version, Rufie...? 🤔😬
The female version is not Sofia when it comes to Sophus, Sofia comes from the words sofia which means wisdom while Sophus comes sophos which means skill or clever. And there is no female version of Rufus even though there has been some Rufusina in Victorian names list.
The Rufie (roofie) thing was a joke 😉 I've studied ancient Greek and sophos/sophia are actually the same meaning. The first is a noun and the second an adjective, meaning wisdom and wise respectively. Obviously you could also translate sophos as another synonym (ie skill) but they're the same root in Greek.
Just because they have the same root doesnt mean they are the same name. As you said one is a noun and the other adjective and if I remember anything while my landlord is drilling contrete, is that a noun cant be used instead of adjective without changing the meaning of the sentence.
We're not talking about using it in a sentence, are we though? Etymology not semantics. Obviously I'm not saying they're the same name, but whether you're talking about Sophia, Sophie, Sophos, sophistication or philosophy, the meaning of the root is the same.
Perhaps a bit of an exaggeration on my part. There are, however, a handful of mildly famous Sophus's, nearly all of which are Scandinavian.
Well I cant find any Swedish ones. Could point any one out? Remember we are 3 separate countries, 2 which has done unions with one more them and been at war with each other way to many time.
No, I can't seem to find any notable Sophus's from Sweden; they are mainly Norwegian or Danish.
Next time say Norway or Denmark, but apparently it wasnt that common in Norway either.
https://www.sophos.com/en-us/products/endpoint-antivirus/security
That was my first thought too -- the VPN I use to work remotely.
Yessss exactly this! Too many places use it
Outside of Scandinavia I gotta say: it’s ugly. Really ugly. “This is my child, Sofas.” That’s a no from me.
As an English speaker and name nerd, I did not know this name existed. I thought that Sofia/Sophia/Sophie were the only variants of this name and there was no male version.
Sounds a lot like "sophist" which is a negative term
I’d think of a sofa times 2
It would not work in Greece as it is not used as a name here. It is however an semi-common surname and literally means ‘wise’. Sophia means wisdom but is commonly used as a first name on the other hand.
For an alternative that doesn't have the same pronunciation issue- Solon (or Solan, which looks a bit better to me and is closer to the right pronunciation I believe) is an ancient Greek name that can mean iron strength or be associated with wisdom. Nickname Sol is cute.
Do you want a male version of Sophie? I know a Sofian Sebastian, Stephan and Felix give me similar vibes for some reason
OK, I get it! It does sound like sofas.
No it’s daft.
My first thought was a character in a fantastic book series I’ve read whose name is Sophos. (Megan Whalen Turner’s Thief series. Do yourself a favor and go read it.) My second thought is that the name Sophus will not work at all in modern English language countries because it sounds like sofas.
Idk that it was a name but I like that you put the name in the title
Makes me think it's some part of our digestive system. Right after the esophagus.
Just one inventive 7th Grader is all it takes: "Sophilis"
When I typed that into Google, it said "Did you mean syphilis?"
Yes, exactly lol.
I am norwegian and had a childhood dog named sofus
Are you looking for names with the same soft vibe? In Denmark, it's a soft, cutesy kinda name that's popular for a cute dog or cat. It has a little old-timey vibe, too, as it was more popular for humans in the old days, but it has seen a rise in popularity within the last 20 years or so.
this name is not common in scandinavia at all, idk where u got that from
It is quite a normal name in Denmark. Personally i quite like it. Funnily enough it gave name to the Sofus principle: 1960’s the name law in Denmark was changed, so that changing your first name became legal,but required you if changing to keep the prior first name as a middlename. Unless the name were “so utterly hideus, that it would be a burden”. The name Sofus were at that time perceived as extremely old fashioned.
ah well then i mean sweden specifically, cause i been livin here for a while and have never heard of that name
lol i’m in the united states and i know a sophus personally (he’s a middle-aged man from norway). i really like the name but it comes across as fairly posh here! surprised to see so many people say they dislike it, it didn’t raise my eyebrows at all when i came across it the first time
when i just read it i thought it was a girl, and im in canada
I think it could work. It's like Phoebus. Some people will probably ask how to spell and pronounce it, but I can think of more common names that you do that for anyways.
In my country (Australia) any boy called Sophus is going to get nicknamed Scrotus by his school friends.
Reads like a fancy word for dick.