Sandi
A feminine name of English origin meaning "sandy or short for Sandra".
Name Census estimates that about 8,113 living Americans carry the first name Sandi. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sandi today is around 56 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sandi births was 1959 (368 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sandi. 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
8.1K
~ 1 in 42,248 Americans
Peak year
1959
368 babies that year
Average age
56
years old
2001 SSA rank
#10,323
Tracked since 1934
Gender
Gender distribution for Sandi
Out of the 10,117 babies given the name Sandi 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.
Sandi as a male name
- Ranked #10,323 in 2001
- 6 male births in 2001
- Peak: 1999 (8 births)
Sandi as a female name
- Ranked #17,206 in 2024
- 5 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1959 (368 births)
Popularity
Sandi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sandi from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 3,103 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
Sandi 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 Sandi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sandis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 43 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Sandi, while West Virginia, South Dakota, Montana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 158 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sandi
The name Sandi is a diminutive form of the feminine name Sandra, which originated from the Greek name Alexandra. It is derived from the Greek word "alexo," meaning "to defend" or "to protect," and "andros," meaning "man" or "warrior." The name Alexandra was thus intended to convey the meaning of "defender of man" or "protector of mankind."
Sandi gained popularity as a shortened form of Sandra in the early 20th century, particularly in English-speaking countries. It is believed to have emerged as a casual or affectionate nickname for Sandra during this period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sandi can be found in the 1922 novel "The Glimpse of Life" by American author Edna Ferber, where one of the characters is named Sandi. This suggests that the name was already in use, at least informally, in the early 1900s.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Sandi. One prominent figure was Sandi Patty (born 1956), an American contemporary Christian music singer and songwriter who rose to fame in the 1980s and 1990s. She is known for her powerful vocals and has won multiple Grammy and Dove Awards.
Another notable Sandi was Sandi Toksvig (born 1958), a Danish-British comedian, writer, and broadcaster. She has hosted several popular TV shows in the UK, including "QI" and "The Great British Bake Off," and is known for her wit and humor.
In the world of sports, Sandi Morris (born 1992) is an American pole vaulter who won the silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She has also won multiple gold medals at various international competitions, including the World Indoor Championships.
Sandi Tan (born 1972) is a Singaporean filmmaker and writer, best known for her critically acclaimed documentary "Shirkers" (2018), which won numerous awards and received widespread acclaim for its exploration of creativity, memory, and the power of storytelling.
Lastly, Sandi Patty (born 1959), an American actress and singer, is notable for her role as Rachel Newton in the Broadway production of "Children of Eden" in the late 1990s. She has also released several albums and has performed in various concerts and stage productions throughout her career.
People
Sandi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sandi as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Sandi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sandi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 8,113 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sandi 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 42,248 US residents.
Is Sandi a common name?
We classify Sandi as "Rare". It ranks above 97.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10,117 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sandi most popular?
The single biggest year for Sandi was 1959, when 368 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sandi is about 56 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Sandi a female name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Sandi 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.