Saundra
A feminine name of English origin meaning "defender of warriors".
Name Census estimates that about 11,105 living Americans carry the first name Saundra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Saundra today is around 67 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Saundra births was 1947 (813 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Saundra. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Saundra is about 67 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Saundras were born before 1969.
People living today
11K
~ 1 in 30,865 Americans
Peak year
1947
813 babies that year
Average age
67
years old
1943 SSA rank
#3,500
Tracked since 1925
Gender
Gender distribution for Saundra
Out of the 17,862 babies given the name Saundra since 1880, 99.9% 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.
Saundra as a male name
- Ranked #3,500 in 1943
- 6 male births in 1943
- Peak: 1943 (6 births)
Saundra as a female name
- Ranked #15,619 in 2017
- 6 female births in 2017
- Peak: 1947 (813 births)
Popularity
Saundra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Saundra from the 1920s through to the 2010s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 6,876 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Saundra 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 Saundra during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Saundras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 40 states and territories. Ohio, California, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Saundra, while South Dakota, New Mexico, Connecticut recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 378 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Saundra
The name Saundra originates from the Old English language and can be traced back to the 9th century. It is derived from the Old English word 'sand', meaning 'sand' or 'sandy place', combined with the feminine suffix 'ra'. In its earliest form, the name was spelled 'Sandre' or 'Saundre'.
During the Anglo-Saxon period, the name was primarily used in regions of England that had sandy or coastal areas. It was often given to children born in these areas, reflecting the local geography and environment.
While there are no known direct references to the name in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is believed to have been in use among the common population of England during the medieval period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Saundra can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landowners and tenants in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. A woman named 'Saundre' was listed as a landowner in the county of Norfolk.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Saundra. These include:
1. Saundra Quarterman (1922-2018), an American civil rights activist who played a crucial role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955-1956.
2. Saundra Santiago (born 1957), an American actress best known for her roles in 'Miami Vice' and 'The Sopranos'.
3. Saundra Neville (born 1955), an American model and actress who appeared in several popular television shows and films in the 1970s and 1980s.
4. Saundra Bullock-Arriz (born 1963), an American politician who served as a member of the Arizona House of Representatives from 2005 to 2011.
5. Saundra Brown Armstrong (born 1945), a United States District Judge for the Northern District of California, appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1994.
While the name Saundra has its roots in Old English, it has gained popularity and use across various cultures and regions over the centuries, reflecting the diverse and rich history of this name.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Saundra
People
Saundra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Saundra 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
Saundra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Saundra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11,105 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Saundra 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 30,865 US residents.
Is Saundra a common name?
We classify Saundra as "Uncommon". It ranks above 97.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 17,862 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Saundra most popular?
The single biggest year for Saundra was 1947, when 813 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Saundra is about 67 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Saundra a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Saundra 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.