Cassaundra
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "an excelling helper or defender".
Name Census estimates that about 2,212 living Americans carry the first name Cassaundra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Cassaundra today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cassaundra births was 1989 (149 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cassaundra. 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.
People living today
2.2K
~ 1 in 154,952 Americans
Peak year
1989
149 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
2014 SSA rank
#12,167
Tracked since 1947
Popularity
Cassaundra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cassaundra from the 1940s through to the 2010s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 812 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
Cassaundra 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 Cassaundra during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Cassaundras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 21 states and territories. California, Ohio, Texas recorded the most babies named Cassaundra, while Wisconsin, Virginia, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 33 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cassaundra
The name Cassaundra has its origins in Greek mythology and culture. It is a feminine form derived from the Greek name Kassandra, which itself comes from the elements kekastai, meaning "to shine" or "to burn," and andros, meaning "man." The name Kassandra was famously borne by the tragic mythological figure Cassandra, a princess of Troy who was gifted with the ability to see the future but cursed with never being believed.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Cassaundra date back to the 16th century, when it began to be used as an Anglicized spelling variation of the Greek Kassandra. One of the earliest known bearers of this spelling was Cassaundra van der Nath, a Dutch noblewoman born in 1567.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Cassaundra. In the 17th century, Cassaundra Fedele (1465-1557) was an Italian scholar and poet who was among the first women to receive a university education. In the 18th century, Cassaundra Austen (1739-1818) was the aunt of the famous English novelist Jane Austen.
Moving into the 19th century, Cassaundra Maria Richardson (1828-1901) was an American educator and activist who fought for the rights of African Americans and women's suffrage. Cassaundra Wilson (1854-1933) was a renowned British painter and illustrator known for her ethereal depictions of mythological and fairy tale subjects.
In the 20th century, Cassaundra Wertmuller (1904-1998) was an Italian film director and screenwriter who became the first woman nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director for her 1976 film Seven Beauties.
People
Cassaundra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cassaundra 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
Cassaundra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cassaundra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,212 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cassaundra 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 154,952 US residents.
Is Cassaundra a common name?
We classify Cassaundra as "Rare". It ranks above 94.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,393 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cassaundra most popular?
The single biggest year for Cassaundra was 1989, when 149 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cassaundra is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Cassaundra a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cassaundra 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.
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.