Sonam

For the American electronics company called SONAM, see Sony Corporation of America.

Sonam is a given name commonly used in North Indian, Tibetan, Nepalese and Bhutanese cultures. It is a Tibetan name meaning "merit" (Tibetan: བསོད་ནམས, Wylie: bsod nams, ZYPY: Soinam).^[1] Separately, it is also a name in various Indo-Aryan languages (Devanagari script: सोनम).

People with this name include:

Buddhism

• Sönam Choklang, 2nd Panchen Lama (1438–1505)
• Sonam Gyatso, 3rd Dalai Lama (1543–1588), first officially recognized Dalai Lama
• Sonam Lhundrup (1456–1531), great abbot of Mustang
• Sonam Rapten (1595–1658), senior official of the Gelugpa School
• Sonam Rinchen (1933–2013), Buddhist Geshe from Kham
• Jinpa Sonam (born 1955), Indian Buddhist teacher from Ladakh, director of the Indiana Buddhist center

Entertainers

• Sonam (actress) (born Bakhtavar Khan, 1972), Indian actress
• Sonam Bajwa (born 1989), Indian actress of Punjabi descent
• Sonam Bisht (fl. 2013–present), Indian actress from Uttarakhand
• Sonam Kapoor (born 1985), Indian film actress and fashion icon
• Sonam Kinga (fl. 1998–present), Bhutanese actor
• Sonam Lamba (born 1995), Indian actress from Chandigarh
• Sonam Lhamo (born 1988), Bhutanese actress
• Sonam Mukherjee (fl. 2010–present, Indian actress from Mumbai
• Sonam Tshering Lepcha (1928–2020), Indian folk musician from Sikkim
• Soname Yangchen (born 1973), Tibetan singer and songwriter
• Tenzing Sonam (born 1959), Tibetan film director

Politics and government

• Sonom (died 1776), king of the rGyalrong people in China
• Sonam Drakpa (1359–1408), regent of Central Tibet
• Sonam Gyatso Lepcha (fl. 1999–present), Indian politician from Sikkim
• Sonam Lama (born c. 1975), Indian politician from Sikkim
• Sonam Pelzom (born c. 1986), Bhutanese politician
• Sonam Topgay Dorji (1896–1953), Bhutanese politician
• Sonam Topgyal (1940–2012), Kalön Tripa of the Central Tibetan Administration
• Sonam Tobgye (born 1949), Bhutanese judge
• Sonam Venchungpa (fl. 2019), Indian politician from Sikkim
• Sonam Wangchuk (born 1964), Indian Army veteran from Ladakh
• Jalley Sonam (fl. 2012–present), Indian politician and trade unionist from Arunachal Pradesh

Sport

• Sonam Bhutia (born 1994), Indian footballer from Sikkim
• Sonam Chuki (born 1963), Bhutanese archer
• Sonam Gyatso (mountaineer) (1923–1968), Sikkimese mountaineer
• Sonam Tenzin (born 1986), Bhutanese footballer
• Sonam Tobgay (born 1990), Bhutanese cricketer and footballer
• Sonam Wangyal (born 1942), Indian mountaineer from Sikkim known for scaling Mount Everest
• Sonam Yoezer (born 1994), Bhutanese footballer

Other

• Sonam Dechen Wangchuck (born 1981), princess of Bhutan
• Sonam Dolma Brauen, (born 1953), Tibetan-Swiss painter
• Sonam Lotus, Indian meteorologist from Ladakh
• Sonam Wangchuk (engineer) (born 1966), Indian engineer from Ladakh

References

1. Buswell, Robert E. Jr.; Lopez, Donald S. Jr. (2013). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton University Press. p. 1232. ISBN 9780691157863.