Sonny Explained

Sonny is a common nickname and occasional given name. Often it can be a derivative of the English word "Son",^[1] a name derived from the Ancient Germanic element *sunn meaning "sun";^[2] 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

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
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

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
Delbert Sonny West (1938–2017), American actor and stunt performer
Harold G. White (born 1965), mechanical engineer, aerospace engineer, and applied physicist

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
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

Notes and References

Web site: Sonny m - Nordic Names Wiki - Name Origin, Meaning and Statistics. 2021-08-05. www.nordicnames.de.
Web site: Sonny f - Nordic Names Wiki - Name Origin, Meaning and Statistics. 2021-08-05. www.nordicnames.de.