girl's name
Cassandra
kuh-SAN-druh
- Origin Greek
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 9
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 210,555
the United States
#630
2025 births
Cassandra is a girl's name from Greek myth, borne by a prophet cursed to see the future and never be believed. Her name has given English an ordinary word for exactly that predicament — a Cassandra is anyone whose warnings are dismissed.
- Cassandra is a name of Greek origin.
- Peaked in 1990, when 7,073 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 7,161 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1902.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Cassandra over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 10 |
| 1910s | 61 |
| 1920s | 76 |
| 1930s | 164 |
| 1940s | 2,660 |
| 1950s | 7,698 |
| 1960s | 16,826 |
| 1970s | 19,074 |
| 1980s | 45,057 |
| 1990s | 50,448 |
| 2000s | 20,149 |
| 2010s | 6,365 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 2,796 |
What Cassandra means
Cassandra is generally given as shining upon men, or one who excels over men. The Greek elements are not securely identified and the reading is a reconstruction.
Where Cassandra comes from
Cassandra is the Greek Kassandra, a daughter of Priam of Troy. Apollo gave her the gift of prophecy to win her favor; when she refused him he could not take the gift back, so he added that no one would believe her. She foresees the fall of Troy, warns against the horse, and is ignored — and the name is now an ordinary English noun for someone whose accurate warnings are dismissed. The elements are usually read as kekasmai, to excel, joined to aner, a man, but neither is secure. Jane Austen's elder sister and closest correspondent was Cassandra.
Cassandra in use
Cassandra peaked in the United States in 1990, when 7,073 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 492nd in England and Wales on 81 births, 558th in Scotland, 630th in the United States on 463, 779th in France on 50 and 958th in Ireland, across 210,555 lifetime births in six of the seven markets we track. England and Wales and Scotland both place it above the United States, where most of its volume was registered.
How popular is Cassandra?
In 2025, Cassandra was given to 463 babies in the United States, ranking #630 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Cassandra is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Cassandra
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Cassandra also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Cassandra over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Cassandra
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Cassandra in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Arabic
- Sandra
- Catalan
- Sandra
- Corsican
- Sandra
- Czech
- Sandra
- Danish
- Sandra
- Dutch
- Sandra
- Estonian
- Sandra
- Finnish
- Sandra
- French
- Sandra
- Icelandic
- Sandra
- Italian
- Sandra
- Latvian
- Sandra
- Malagasy
- Sandra
- Norwegian
- Sandra
- Portuguese
- Sandra
- Slovak
- Sandra
- Slovene
- Sandra
- Spanish
- Sandra
- Swedish
- Sandra
- Other forms
- Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
- Casandra
Sibling names for Cassandra
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Cassandra — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Cassandra
What does the name Cassandra mean?
Usually given as shining upon men, though the Greek elements are not securely identified.
What is the curse of Cassandra?
Apollo gave her prophecy, and when she refused him added that no one would believe her. She foresaw Troy's fall and was ignored.
Is Cassandra an English word?
Yes — a Cassandra is someone whose accurate warnings are dismissed, from the myth directly.
How popular is Cassandra?
630th in the United States and 492nd in England and Wales.
Is Cassandra a girl's or a boy's name?
Cassandra is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Cassandra?
Cassandra has 3 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Cassandra?
Cassandra is usually shortened to Cass and Sandy.
Is Cassandra a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Cassandra currently ranks #492 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.