flˈɔɪd sˈʌnɪɚ wʌz bˈɔːɹn ɪn nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd θˈɜːɾi θɹˈiː, ðɪ ˈoʊldɪst ʌv sˈɪks tʃˈɪldɹən; tə dˈeɪvɪd ænd vˈɜːdʒi θˈɪboʊdˌɔːks sˈʌnɪɚɹ ɪn ɐ smˈɔːl ʃˈɛɹkɹˈɑːpɚz hˈaʊs ɪn ɐn ˈɛɹiə kˈɔːld "lˌæ pˈɔɪnt nwˈɑːɹ", saʊθwˈɛst ʌv tʃˈɜːtʃ pˈɔɪnt ɪn ɐkˈeɪdiə pˈæɹɪʃ.
Floyd Sonnier was born in 1933, the oldest of six children; to David and Virgie Thibodeaux Sonnier in a small share-cropper's house in an area called "La Pointe Noire", southwest of Church Point in Acadia Parish.