# Sonny

Sonny is a common nickname and occasional given name. Often it can be a derivative of the English word "Son", a name derived from the Ancient Germanic element *sunn meaning "sun"; a nickname derived from the Italian names Salvatore, Santo, or Santino (mostly in North America amongst Italian Americans); or the Slavic male name Slavon meaning "famous or glorious".
Notable people with the name include:

## Athletes

* Sonny Alvarado, Puerto Rican basketball player
* Charles Sonny Ates (1935–2010), retired American racecar driver
* Erwin Sonny Bishop (born 1939), American football player
* Shin'ichi Sonny Chiba (1939–2021), Japanese martial artist and actor
* Sonny Gray (born 1989), American baseball pitcher
* Sonny Hendrawan, Indonesian basketball player - see List of members of the FIBA Hall of Fame
* Sidney "Sonny" Hertzberg (1922–2005), American basketball player
* Sonny Holland (1938-2022), American football coach and player
* Ernest Sonny Hutchins (1929–2005), stock car driver
* Christian Sonny Jurgensen (born 1934), American Hall-of-Fame National Football League quarterback
* Sonny Liles (1919–2005), American football player
* Charles Sonny Liston (c. 1930–1970), American heavyweight boxer
* Frank Sonny Milano (born 1996), American ice hockey player
* Sonny M'Pokomandji (born 1948), Central African former basketball player
* Robert Sonny Parker (basketball) (born 1955), American former basketball player
* Andreas Schönbächler, known as Sonny Schönbächler, Swiss freestyle skier and Olympic champion
* Wilfred Sonny Siebert (born 1937), American former baseball pitcher
* Jan Sonny Silooy (born 1963), Dutch former footballer
* Anderson da Silva (born 1970), known as Sonny Anderson, Brazilian retired footballer
* Son Heung Min (born 1992), South Korean football player
* Sonny Weems (born 1986), American expatriate basketball player
* Sonny Bill Williams (born 1985), New Zealand former rugby league and rugby union player

## Jazz musicians

* Saul Sonny Berman (1925–1947), American trumpeter
* Joseph Sonny Burke (1914–1980), American big band leader
* Conrad Sonny Clark (1931–1963), American pianist
* George Sonny Cohn (1925–2006), American trumpeter
* William Sonny Criss (1927–1977), American saxophonist
* Francis Sonny Dallas (1931–2007), American bassist
* Sonny Fortune (1939–2018), American saxophonist and flautist
* Herbert Sonny Greenwich (born 1936), Canadian guitarist
* Sonny Greer (1895–1982), American drummer
* Percival Sonny Payne (1926–1979), American drummer
* Sonny Red (1932–1981), American alto saxophonist
* Walter Theodore Sonny Rollins (born 1930), American saxophonist
* Warren Sonny Sharrock (1940–1994), American guitarist
* Huey Sonny Simmons (1933–2021), American saxophonist and English horn player
* Sonny Stitt (1924–1982), American saxophonist born Edward Boatner, Jr.

## Other musicians

* Sonny Double 1, Welsh rapper
* Sonny Black, English singer/songwriter born William Boazman
* Salvatore Sonny Bono (1935–1998), American singer, record producer and politician
* Albert Sonny Burgess (1929–2017), rockabilly singer and guitarist
* Sonny Lim, Hawaiian musician and slack key guitar player.
* Edwin Sonny Chillingworth (1932–1994), slack-key guitar player from Hawaii
* Albert "Sonny" Cunha (1879–1933), Hawaiian composer
* Sonny Curtis (born 1937), country and pop singer-songwriter
* Sonny Digital (born 1991), American record producer, rapper, and DJ.
* Sonny Emory (born 1962), freelance touring and studio drummer
* Sonny James (1928–2016), stage name of American country music singer James Hugh Loden
* Sonny Kay (born 1972), founder of the record label Gold Standard Laboratories
* Sonny King (singer) (1922–2006), American lounge singer born Luigi Antonio Schiavone
* Clyde Sonny Landreth (born 1951), American blues guitar player
* Sonny Fredie Pedersen, Danish musician and actor
* Sonny Sanders (1939–2016), American soul music singer-songwriter, arranger, and producer
* Paul Sonny Sandoval (born 1974), lead singer of rock band P.O.D.
* Sonny Terry (1911–1986), blind American blues musician born Saunders Terrell
* Joseph Sonny West (1937–2022), American rockabilly guitarist and songwriter
* Sonny Boy Williamson I a.k.a. John Lee Williamson (1914–1948), blues singer and harmonica player
* Sonny Boy Williamson II a.k.a. Aleck Ford "Rice" Miller (c.1912–1965), blues singer and harmonica player
* Sonny John Moore a.k.a. Skrillex, DJ Producer
* Sonny Leonard Grootscholten a.k.a. Sonny, DJ, music producer and songwriter

## Other

* Sonny Vaccaro, American former sports marketing executive
* Sonny Angara (born 1972), Filipino politician
* Ralph Sonny Barger (1938–2022), founding member of the original Oakland, California, chapter of the Hells Angels motorcycle club
* Feliciano "Sonny" Belmonte Jr. (born 1936), Filipino politician
* Dominick Napolitano, also known as Sonny Black (1930–1981), capo in the Bonanno crime family
* Al Indelicato, also known as Sonny Red (1931–1981), another capo in the Bonanno crime family, killed during the same gangland war, in which the two led opposite sides
* Sonny Caldinez (1932–2022), Trinidadian actor
* Sonny Flood (born 1989), English actor who plays Josh Ashworth on Hollyoaks
* Sonny Grosso (1930–2020), police detective and movie producer from New York
* John Franzese, Sr. (1917–2020), underboss of the Colombo crime family
* William Sonny Landham (1941–2017), American actor and stuntman
* Sonny Mehta (born Ajai Singh Mehta; 1942–2019), Indian book editor
* Gillespie V. Montgomery (1920–2006), American politician
* George Sonny Perdue (born 1946), U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and former Governor of Georgia
* Shridath Ramphal (born 1928), commonly called "Sonny Ramphal" or "Sir Sonny", Guyanese politician and 2nd Commonwealth Secretary-General
* Otis Sonny Shroyer (born 1935), American actor
* Sonny Venkatrathnam(1938-2019), South African human rights activist.
* Delbert Sonny West (1938–2017), American actor and stunt performer
* Harold G. White (born 1965), mechanical engineer, aerospace engineer, and applied physicist
* Lee Sung Jin, also known as Sonny Lee (born 1981), American filmmaker

## Fictional characters

* Sonny, a racer character in the Malaysian animated series Rimba Racer
* Sonny the Cuckoo Bird, the mascot for Cocoa Puffs breakfast cereal
* Sonny, a well tank locomotive from Thomas & Friends
* Sonny, the protagonist of the flash video game Sonny
* Sonny, a character in the 1994 American action thriller movie Raw Justice
* Sonny Bonds, protagonist of the first three Police Quest games
* Dominick "Sonny" Carisi, Jr., detective on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
* Sonny Corinthos, in the soap opera General Hospital
* Santino "Sonny" Corleone, in the film The Godfather, played by James Caan
* James "Sonny" Crockett, an undercover police detective in the action drama television series Miami Vice
* Sonny Forelli, in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
* Sonny Kiriakis, on the soap opera Days of our Lives
* Sonny LoSpecchio, the main character in the film A Bronx Tale, played by Chazz Palminteri
* Sonny Lumet, a character in the American television sitcom Bosom Buddies
* Sonny Munroe, in Disney Channel Original Series Sonny with a Chance
* Sonny Spoon, a police detective character in the TV series Sonny Spoon
* Sonny Sumo, a supporting character of DC Comics' Forever People
* Sonny Valentine, in the soap opera Hollyoaks
* Sonny Weaver, Jr., main character of the 2014 film Draft Day, played by Kevin Costner
* Sonny Wolff, the father of Nat and Alex Wolff in The Naked Brothers Band
* Sonny Wortzik, main character of Dog Day Afternoon, played by Al Pacino
* Sonny, a character in the 2021 Canadian-American movie Mister Sister
* Sonny, a character in 1986 the American fantasy drama film The Boy Who Could Fly
* Sonny, a robot in the film I, Robot