Where did the baby name Sochi come from in 2014?

Skier at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi (Russia)
Olympic skier at Sochi

The name Sochi debuted in the U.S. baby name data in 2014, then dropped out of the data the very next year.

  • 2016: unlisted
  • 2015: unlisted
  • 2014: 10 baby girls named Sochi [debut]
  • 2013: unlisted
  • 2012: unlisted

I’m sure you know the source of this one: The 2014 Winter Olympics, which were held in the Russian resort city of Sochi. The games began two years ago today, in fact.

The settlement was named after the Sochi River in the 1890s. The river name is derived somehow from the name of the Circassian people (“Cherkess” in Russian) who once inhabited the region.

What are your thoughts on the baby name Sochi? Would you use it as a girl name or as a boy name?

Source: Sochi – Online Etymology Dictionary
Image: Adapted from Sochi 2014_386 by Denis Polyakov under CC BY SA 2.0.

2 thoughts on “Where did the baby name Sochi come from in 2014?

  1. I think it’s a pretty name, a little different without veering toward the weird or burdensome.
    I do think it sounds more appropriate for a girl. It seems to fit in well with names such as Sasha, Saoirse and Suri.

  2. Just spotted the names “Sochikaima” and “Sochikanyima” — both of which can be shortened to Sochi — on a list of Igbo baby names.

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