Vandora
A feminine name, perhaps of Latin origin, with a potential meaning related to wind or wandering.
Name Census estimates that about 43 living Americans carry the first name Vandora. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Vandora today is around 65 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vandora births was 1960 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vandora. 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 Vandora is about 65 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Vandoras were born before 1971.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Vandora. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
43
~ 1 in 7,971,031 Americans
Peak year
1960
9 babies that year
Average age
65
years old
1970 SSA rank
#9,302
Tracked since 1911
Census
Vandora in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 112 people with the first name Vandora, which placed it at #51,666 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
#51,666
National first-name rank
People counted
112
112 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
75.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vandora
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vandora is Black at 75.9%. The next largest groups are White (14.3%) and Two or More Races (8.0%). 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 Vandora 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 Vandora at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American75.9% · 85
- White14.3% · 16
- Two or more races8.0% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 2
Popularity
Vandora: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vandora from the 1910s through to the 1970s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 38 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
Vandora 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 Vandora during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Vandora
The name Vandora originates from the Etruscan language, spoken by the ancient Etruscan civilization that flourished in central Italy between the 8th and 3rd centuries BCE. Its roots can be traced back to the Etruscan words "van" meaning "to lead" and "dora" meaning "gift," suggesting that the name could have been interpreted as "a leader's gift" or "a gift from a leader."
The name's earliest recorded use can be found in a collection of Etruscan inscriptions dating back to the 5th century BCE, where it was typically given to individuals of noble or influential status. One notable Etruscan bearing this name was Vandora Velthuri, a prominent merchant and diplomat who lived around 400 BCE and was known for facilitating trade agreements between the Etruscan city-states.
As the Etruscan civilization declined and was eventually assimilated into the Roman Republic, the name Vandora appears to have been adopted by some Roman families, particularly those with Etruscan ancestry or connections. It can be found inscribed on a few Roman funerary monuments and artifacts from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century CE.
The name gained a religious significance during the early days of Christianity, as it was borne by Vandora of Antioch, a Christian martyr who lived in the 3rd century CE and was revered for her unwavering faith and refusal to renounce her beliefs under persecution. Her story is recounted in several early Christian texts, including the "Acts of the Martyrs."
In the Middle Ages, the name Vandora resurfaced in various European regions, often with slight variations in spelling or pronunciation. One notable figure was Vandora of Saxony (c. 980-1028), a German noblewoman and abbess who founded several monasteries and was renowned for her piety and charitable works.
During the Renaissance, the name appeared in literary works, such as the poetic works of the Italian Renaissance author Giovanni Boccaccio, who featured a character named Vandora in his collection of novellas, the "Decameron" (c. 1350).
Other historical figures who bore the name Vandora include:
1. Vandora Visconti (c. 1350-1412), an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts during the Renaissance.
2. Vandora Gonzaga (c. 1460-1518), an Italian Renaissance princess and patron of the arts, known for her influential role in the court of Mantua.
3. Vandora Farnese (c. 1520-1585), an Italian noblewoman and duchess of Parma and Piacenza during the 16th century.
4. Vandora Grimaldi (c. 1680-1742), a member of the Grimaldi family, the ruling house of Monaco, and a patron of the arts and sciences.
5. Vandora Sforza (c. 1750-1824), an Italian noblewoman and philanthropist who supported various charitable causes in Milan.
People
Vandora + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vandora as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with V
Other first names starting with V with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Vandora: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vandora?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 43 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vandora 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 7,971,031 US residents.
Is Vandora a common name?
We classify Vandora as "Very Rare". It ranks above 52.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 82 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vandora most popular?
The single biggest year for Vandora was 1960, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vandora is about 65 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Vandora in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 112 people with the name Vandora, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #51,666 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 Vandora 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 Vandora?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Vandora appears almost entirely female. Of the 110 people counted with this name, 99.1% 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 Vandora?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vandora is Black at 75.9%. The next largest groups are White (14.3%) and Two or More Races (8.0%). 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 Vandora most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Vandora in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.9% (85 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 Vandora in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Vandora a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Vandora 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 Vandora still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Vandora 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 Vandora 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 Vandora as a first name?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Vandora, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.