Entry № 2257 · English origin

Sojourner Sojourner — Meaning, Origin & Baby Name Popularity

/ SOH-jur-ner /
Gender
Girl
Origin
English
Meaning
"Sojourner Truth, abolitionist and women's rights orator"
Syllables
3
Rank · US 2025
№ 0
First recorded
Modern (English)

A name that means "sojourner truth, abolitionist and women's rights orator".

Sojourner means "one who stays temporarily" in English. **Sojourner Truth (c. 1797-1883)** — born Isabella Baumfree, enslaved in New York State — **renamed herself in 1843 after a religious vision instructing her to travel and preach the truth**. **Delivered her *"Ain't I a Woman?"* speech at the 1851 Ohio Women's Rights Convention** — one of the most famous speeches in American history. **First Black woman to win a court case against a white man in the US**, recovering her son from illegal slavery in Alabama in 1828.

Subject of Nell Irvin Painter's *Sojourner Truth: A Life, A Symbol* (1996).

Renamed herself after a religious vision. 'Ain't I a Woman?' at the 1851 Ohio Women's Rights Convention.

The name in its native script.

Sojourner
Transliteration
Sojourner
Pronunciation
/ ˈsoʊ.dʒɜːr.nər /
Root
Grammatical form

Where Sojourner stands.

Current rank · 2025
№ 0 in the U.S.
All-time peak
№ 0 in 0
Babies named Sojourner · last year
87 in the U.S.
First entered SSA top-1000
0
Rank, 1995–2025 Lower = more popular
№25 №75 №150 №250 1995 2005 2015 2020 2025 PEAK · — NOW · —

Sojourners before her.

Real people
Sojourner Truth
American abolitionist and women's rights orator.
c. 1797 – 1883
In fiction
Sojourner
Mars rover named for her.
1997

Names connected to Sojourner.

The number behind Sojourner.

1

The Pioneer

Sojourner reduces to one — the number of Ain't I a Woman.

Why families chose this name.

"Truth's renamer. Nine letters. Sojourner."
Eleanor · Mother of one · Hurley