Given name & surname
Sandra
“helper and defender of mankind”
Sandra shortens Alessandra and has a nineteenth-century literary route into English use.
Original Ancient GreekἈλεξάνδρα
Meaning & origin
What it means
In Greek use, Sandra carries the interpretation “helper and defender of mankind.” Sandra is a short form of Alexandra. In Greek use, Alexandra carries the interpretation “helper and defender of mankind.”
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Greek.
How it developed
Sandra is used as a form of Alexandra.
The story
George Meredith’s heroine Emilia Sandra Belloni helped bring Sandra to English-speaking readers. The novel first appeared as Emilia in England and was later titled Sandra Belloni.
Sandra through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 878,223
- 2,692 boys · 875,531 girls
- Most popular year
- 1947
- 34,852 babies
- 2025
- 188
- #1,210 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −16%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 188 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 1,210 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 16.0% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 34,779 in 1947. In 2025, California and Texas shared the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (27 each). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 780,828 as a first name in 2020; 511 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Sandra’s family of names
In French usage, Sandra is a diminutive of Alexandra. In Spanish usage, Sandra shares a linguistic root with Alejandra. In Italian usage, Sandra has a conventional equivalent in the German form Alex.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Sandra has relatives in 21 languages. Lines run from its Ancient Greek roots to each of them.
Ancient Greekwhere Sandra comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 36
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Alexandrafull form · English, French
- Alessandrafull form · Portuguese, Italian
- Cassandrafull form · English
- Sandydiminutive · English
- Aleksandrafull form · Polish, Norwegian Bokmål
- Santavariant · Latvian
- Sondravariant
- Sandidiminutive · English
Show 28 moreShow fewer
- Sandiediminutive · English
- Sandavariant · Latvian
- Sandrinediminutive · French, German
- Sandyevariant
- Sandiavariant
- Shandravariant
- Sandeevariant
- Sandrahvariant
- Saundravariant
- Sandrinavariant · German
- Sandriavariant · German
- Sanddralikely variant
- Santravariant · Finnish
- Sandeavariant
- Sanndievariant
- Sandinevariant
- Sandieyvariant
- Sandiahvariant
- Sahndravariant
- Sanndravariant
- Sandricavariant
- Sandirahvariant
- Sandahvariant
- Sandiravariant
- Sandeyvariant
- Sandraatjesdiminutive · Dutch
- Sandraatjediminutive · Dutch
- Sandřičkadiminutive · Czech
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 16
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Sandra
- Sandra BullockAmerican actress and film producerborn 1964
- Sandra Mason1st president of Barbadosborn 1949
- Sandra Day O'ConnorAmerican lawyer and jurist (1930–2023)
- Sandra OhCanadian and American actress (born 1971)
- Sandra KimBelgian singerborn 1972
- SandraGerman singer (born 1962)
- Sandy DennisAmerican actress (1937–1992)
- Sandra ElkasevićCroatian athlete who competes in the sport of discus throwborn 1990
- Sandra DeeAmerican actress and model (1942–2005)
Characters named Sandra: Lady Shiva (fictional character).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Sandra, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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