Samatar was born in 1971 in a small town in northern Indiana, United States.[1] Her father is the prominent Somali scholar, historian and writer Said Sheikh Samatar. Her mother is a Swiss-German Mennonite from North Dakota.[1][2] Sofia's parents met in 1970 in Mogadishu, Somalia, while her mother was teaching English.[3] She has a brother, Del Samatar.[4]