Cassandra
A feminine given name of Greek origin meaning "she who inflames men's desire".
Name Census estimates that about 157,603 living Americans carry the first name Cassandra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Cassandra today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cassandra births was 1990 (7,073 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cassandra. 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 Cassandra with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Cassandra is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 376 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Compared to the 1990s, recent registration numbers for Cassandra have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
158K
~ 1 in 2,175 Americans
Peak year
1990
7,073 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
2005 SSA rank
#613
Tracked since 1902
Census
Cassandra in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 141,757 people with the first name Cassandra, which placed it at #398 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
#398
National first-name rank
People counted
142K
141,757 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
46.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
57.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cassandra
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cassandra is White at 57.2%. The next largest groups are Black (18.4%) and Hispanic (17.7%). 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 Cassandra 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 Cassandra at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White57.2% · 81,017
- Black or African American18.4% · 26,041
- Hispanic or Latino17.7% · 25,077
- Two or more races4.3% · 6,125
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 2,311
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1,186
Gender
Gender distribution for Cassandra
Out of the 170,919 babies given the name Cassandra since 1880, 99.8% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Cassandra as a male name
- Ranked #11,726 in 2005
- 5 male births in 2005
- Peak: 1988 (26 births)
Cassandra as a female name
- Ranked #613 in 2024
- 485 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1990 (7,054 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cassandra appears almost entirely female. Of the 141,760 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Cassandra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cassandra from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 50,446 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cassandra 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 Cassandra during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Cassandras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Cassandra, while Wyoming, Vermont, Delaware recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 3,297 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cassandra
The name Cassandra has its origins in Greek mythology and is derived from the Greek words "kassandra" meaning "shining upon man" or "she who entangles men". It is believed to have emerged as a name in ancient Greece around the 8th century BCE.
One of the earliest and most famous references to the name Cassandra comes from Greek mythology, where she was a Trojan princess gifted with prophecy by Apollo. However, when she refused his romantic advances, he cursed her so that her prophecies would never be believed. Her tragic story is recounted in ancient Greek texts like Homer's Iliad.
In ancient Greek literature, the name Cassandra appears in the works of playwrights like Aeschylus and Euripides, whose tragedies explore the character's role in the Trojan War. The name also surfaces in later Roman texts, as the story of Cassandra was retold by authors like Virgil and Ovid.
The earliest recorded person with the name Cassandra was likely Cassandra of Acragas, a Greek woman from Sicily who lived around the 5th century BCE. She was known for her philosophical writings and teachings.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Cassandra, including:
1. Cassandra of Bavaria (1292-1333), a Bavarian princess and the wife of Stephen I, Duke of Bavaria.
2. Cassandra Fedele (1465-1558), an Italian Renaissance scholar and poet who was one of the most educated women of her time.
3. Cassandra Austen (1773-1845), the sister of the famous English novelist Jane Austen.
4. Cassandra Lucifera (1590-1636), an Italian astrologer and philosopher who wrote extensively on astrology and the occult.
5. Cassandra Khaw (born 1984), a contemporary American writer known for her work in speculative fiction and horror.
The name Cassandra has endured through the centuries, symbolizing both the gift of prophecy and the curse of being unheeded. Its Greek origins have ensured its continued use across various cultures and languages, making it a name with a rich historical legacy.
People
Cassandra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cassandra as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Cassandra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cassandra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 157,603 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cassandra 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 2,175 US residents.
Is Cassandra a common name?
We classify Cassandra as "Common". It ranks above 99.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 170,919 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cassandra most popular?
The single biggest year for Cassandra was 1990, when 7,073 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cassandra is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Cassandra in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 141,757 people with the name Cassandra, or 46.93 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #398 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 Cassandra 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 Cassandra?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cassandra appears almost entirely female. Of the 141,760 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Cassandra?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cassandra is White at 57.2%. The next largest groups are Black (18.4%) and Hispanic (17.7%). 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 Cassandra most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Cassandra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.2% (81,017 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 Cassandra in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cassandra a female name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Cassandra 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 Cassandra still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cassandra 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 Cassandra 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 have the name Cassandra?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.