This is the 5830th most frequent Spanish word.
sonar
"Sonar" means "to sound" or "to ring" in English.
In this sentence, 'sonar' is used as a verb meaning 'to make something sound' or 'to ring' an object that produces a sound, like a bell.
¿Puedo hacer sonar la campana?
Can I make the bell ring?
Here, 'sonar' is employed idiomatically to mean 'to be familiar' or 'to remind one of something in the mind.'
Ese nombre me empieza a sonar.
That name starts to ring a bell for me.
In this context, 'sonar' describes the act of emitting a sound, as in a phone ringing to notify.