Sonnier
A French surname, most likely linked to an old nickname or occupational term related to song or a singer.
The #5,715 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 50,881 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The evidence here is thin, but Sonnier is a French surname and may be connected to an old word family around "son" and "chanter" (song/singing), rather than to the modern English word "sun." The excerpt suggests a relationship with older French forms such as *chansonnier* or related nickname forms, but it does not give a firm, direct derivation. As a result, the safest reading is that the name is probably French in origin and may have begun as a nickname or occupational byname connected with song or performance.
History
Sonnier is best known today as a Louisiana and Gulf Coast surname, reflecting the wider movement of French surnames into North America, especially through Acadian and French colonial migration. In French-speaking communities, surnames of this type often stabilized from older descriptive bynames. The historical source excerpt is suggestive but not decisive, so the deeper medieval origin remains uncertain.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Sonnier is especially common in Louisiana, where many surnames preserve French colonial and Acadian heritage.
From the historical record
“Son : hauteur (oil). Sonnier. M. s. q. Sonnard. Nous dise us encore chansonnier. Sonrier. Receveur-administra- teur des droits seigneuriaux de l'ab- baye de Remiremout. On l'appelait”
— Dictionnaire des noms (French surnames)