[3] Sokolniki derives its name from the word "сокол" (sokol, meaning "falcon") in view of the Tsar's falcon hunting grounds which were located there, primarily on the territory of the present-day Sokolniki Park.

The district is home to the FC and HC Spartak Moscow.

In 2006, after twenty years of construction and changing ownership, a twenty-storey hotel finally opened overlooking the Sokolniki metro station and Sokolniki Square.

In Tolstoy's War and Peace, Pierre fights a duel in Sokolniki.

The Elite House in Sokolniki will soon be one of the largest buildings in the world with DuPont Tyvek used as a weather and water barrier.