Andra
A feminine name of Scandinavian origin meaning "brave and very manly".
Name Census estimates that about 6,868 living Americans carry the first name Andra. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 68.2% of registrations being female. The average person named Andra today is around 51 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Andra births was 1967 (243 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Andra. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Andra with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
6.9K
~ 1 in 49,906 Americans
Peak year
1967
243 babies that year
Average age
51
years old
2023 SSA rank
#7,602
Tracked since 1917
Census
Andra in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 6,357 people with the first name Andra, which placed it at #3,335 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#3,335
National first-name rank
People counted
6.4K
6,357 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
58.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Andra
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Andra is White at 58.3%. The next largest groups are Black (28.9%) and Hispanic (7.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Andra described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Andra at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.3% · 3,703
- Black or African American28.9% · 1,837
- Hispanic or Latino7.9% · 504
- Two or more races2.7% · 174
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 103
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 36
Gender
Gender distribution for Andra
Andra is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 8,152 total registrations, 2,592 (31.8%) were male and 5,560 (68.2%) were female.
Andra as a male name
- Ranked #12,356 in 2023
- 5 male births in 2023
- Peak: 1966 (99 births)
Andra as a female name
- Ranked #7,602 in 2024
- 14 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1959 (180 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Andra on both sides of the split. Of the 6,359 people counted with this name, 1,350 were male (21.2%) and 5,009 were female (78.8%).
Popularity
Andra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Andra from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 2,018 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Andra by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Andra during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Andras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 29 states and territories. Texas, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Andra, while Utah, District of Columbia, Minnesota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 101 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Andra
The name Andra has its origins in the Sanskrit language, dating back to ancient India around the 5th century BCE. It is derived from the word "andra," which means "ruler" or "chief." The name was likely given to male children born into royal or noble families, signifying their status and potential for leadership.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Andra can be found in the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata. In this ancient text, Andra is the name of a prince from the Kuru kingdom, who plays a significant role in the great war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas.
As Sanskrit influence spread across South and Southeast Asia, the name Andra gained popularity in various regions. In the 6th century CE, an Indian king named Andra ruled over parts of present-day Sri Lanka, further cementing the name's association with power and authority.
During the medieval period, the name Andra was also found in Persian and Arabic texts, likely due to the cultural exchange between India and the Middle East. In the 11th century, a renowned Persian philosopher and poet named Andra Ibn Sina, also known as Avicenna in the West, made significant contributions to the fields of medicine, astronomy, and philosophy.
As the centuries passed, the name Andra continued to be used across various cultures and regions. In the 16th century, Andra Gritti was a powerful Venetian merchant and diplomat who played a crucial role in the Republic of Venice's trade relations with the Ottoman Empire.
In more recent times, the name Andra has been borne by notable individuals such as Andra Day, an American singer and songwriter born in 1984, who is known for her soulful voice and socially conscious lyrics. Andra Martin, born in 1991, is a Swiss professional tennis player who has achieved success on the WTA Tour.
While the name Andra may have its roots in ancient Sanskrit, it has transcended its origins and found a place in various cultures and contexts throughout history, often associated with leadership, wisdom, and artistic expression.
People
Andra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Andra as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Andra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Andra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6,868 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Andra going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 49,906 US residents.
Is Andra a common name?
We classify Andra as "Rare". It ranks above 97.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 8,152 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Andra most popular?
The single biggest year for Andra was 1967, when 243 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Andra is about 51 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Andra in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 6,357 people with the name Andra, or 2.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,335 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Andra in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Andra?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Andra on both sides of the split. Of the 6,359 people counted with this name, 1,350 were male (21.2%) and 5,009 were female (78.8%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Andra?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Andra is White at 58.3%. The next largest groups are Black (28.9%) and Hispanic (7.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Andra most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Andra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.3% (3,703 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Andra in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Andra a female name?
Yes, 68.2% of people registered as Andra in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Andra still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Andra in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Andra can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Andra?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.