Fun Facts About the Name Sione
- More than 1 thousand babies named Sione: U.S. records list 1,510 babies given the name Sione from 1880 through 2025. Even 6 girls received the name Sione - about 1 girl for every 251 boys.
What Does the Name Sione Mean?
Sione is the Tongan form of John and carries the same meaning: "God is gracious," or more literally, "Yahweh is gracious." The name traces back to the Hebrew Yochanan (יוֹחָנָן), built from a shortened form of the divine name and a verb meaning "to be gracious" or "to show favor." That Hebrew name passed into Greek as Ioannes and into Latin as Ioannes, later Johannes, the source of the name in most European languages.
The Tongan form is not a translation of the Hebrew phrase but an adaptation of the name to Tongan sound patterns. English "John" is written with an initial s in Tongan, the same way Joseph becomes Siosifa and George becomes Siaosi, because Tongan does not use the "j" sound. Tongan also does not end a word in a consonant, so a final -e is added: Sione.
Sione Name History & Origins
Sione came into Tongan with Christian missionary work in the nineteenth century. Wesleyan missionaries who settled in Tonga from the 1820s onward reduced the spoken language to writing and translated scripture, and in those translations John the Baptist and John the Apostle are named Sione. The name has been a usual Tongan given name since that period, used for boys and men.
Closely related Polynesian languages have their own parallel forms of the same biblical name rather than borrowings from Tongan: Samoan Ioane, Māori Hōne, and Hawaiian Ioane. Through migration, Sione is now also common among Tongan communities in New Zealand, Australia, and the United States, where it is often written alongside an English name on official documents.
How Popular is the Name Sione?
Sione has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2017. Its best rank was #1,971 in 1984.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | #17,002 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #3,499 | 33 | 0.0019% |
| 2024 | #3,957 | 28 | 0.0016% |
| 2023 | #3,693 | 31 | 0.0018% |
| 2022 | #4,415 | 24 | 0.0014% |
| 2021 | #2,643 | 49 | 0.0028% |
| 2020 | #3,334 | 34 | 0.0020% |
| 2019 | #2,932 | 42 | 0.0023% |
| 2018 | #3,594 | 31 | 0.0017% |
| 2017 | #2,525 | 51 | 0.0028% |
| 2016 | #4,300 | 24 | 0.0013% |
| 2015 | #3,761 | 29 | 0.0015% |
| 2014 | #3,210 | 35 | 0.0018% |
| 2013 | #3,114 | 36 | 0.0019% |
| 2012 | #3,615 | 30 | 0.0016% |
| 2011 | #3,099 | 37 | 0.0019% |
| 2010 | #3,003 | 39 | 0.0020% |
| 2009 | #2,652 | 47 | 0.0024% |
| 2008 | #3,211 | 36 | 0.0018% |
| 2007 | #3,180 | 36 | 0.0017% |
| 2006 | #3,375 | 32 | 0.0016% |
| 2005 | #3,009 | 35 | 0.0018% |
| 2004 | #2,833 | 37 | 0.0019% |
| 2003 | #2,501 | 42 | 0.0021% |
| 2002 | #2,744 | 35 | 0.0018% |
| 2001 | #3,136 | 29 | 0.0015% |
| 2000 | #2,217 | 45 | 0.0023% |
| 1999 | #2,600 | 34 | 0.0018% |
| 1998 | #2,309 | 39 | 0.0020% |
| 1997 | #2,673 | 30 | 0.0016% |
| 1996 | #3,281 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 1995 | #2,546 | 30 | 0.0016% |
| 1994 | #2,491 | 31 | 0.0016% |
| 1993 | #2,771 | 26 | 0.0013% |
| 1992 | #3,441 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 1991 | #2,458 | 29 | 0.0014% |
| 1990 | #2,763 | 24 | 0.0012% |
| 1989 | #2,881 | 22 | 0.0011% |
| 1988 | #2,131 | 30 | 0.0016% |
| 1987 | #2,710 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 1986 | #2,000 | 30 | 0.0016% |
| 1985 | #2,286 | 24 | 0.0013% |
| 1984 | #1,971 | 28 | 0.0016% |
| 1983 | #2,075 | 26 | 0.0015% |
| 1982 | #3,086 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1981 | #2,665 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 1980 | #2,712 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 1979 | #2,883 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 1978 | #2,651 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 1977 | #4,529 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1976 | #4,859 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1975 | #4,256 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1973 | #5,004 | 6 | 0.0004% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Sione Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are spiritually intense and can sting or charm. Your name brings love and new starts into life and attracts money. In business, you are the creator and promoter of original ideas and usually enjoy considerable financial success. You are intuitive and might be interested in the arts, drama or science.
Position and social status is very important for you and you are always looking for way to improve your position in society. You have power and ability to chose your own destiny and achieve anything you want in life. You can expand in any direction according to your will and the set of values. You have passion for justice and belong to the position of authority. You have an inherent courage and endurance to accomplish "The Impossible Dream". With the power comes responsibility. You hold keys to the material world, but with this gift comes high spiritual responsibility to be fair and true to others. You are philosophical and mature, determined and intense with a desire to endure, often religious.
✦ Sione's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Sione's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.