Meaning of the nameSandra
- Female
- Italian origin
- Greek origin
- San-dra
Sandra is a female name that comes from Italian, a short form of Alessandra, which goes back to Greek Alexandra, the feminine of Alexandros, 'defender of men'.
Meaning
“short form of Alessandra, feminine of Alexandre: 'defender of men'”
Source: Behind the Name: Alexandra · Behind the Name: Alexander
- People (2022)
- 447,906
- Rank in Brazil
- #55
- Median age
- 49 years
- 2010 Census
- 480,379
- people
Sandra in the 2022 Census
People with the first name Sandra, by the decade they were born. In the chart, 70 = the 1970s and 20+ = 2020 to 2022. The largest group was born in the 1970s (165,128 people).
446,251 women 1,655 men
Source: IBGE, 2022 Demographic Census, Nomes no Brasil. The census counts the first name of people alive in 2022; small counts are not published, and the first group covers everyone born before 1940. How to read these data.
Where the name Sandra is most common
States with the highest share of people named Sandra in the population, in the 2022 Census.
- Rio de Janeiro 0.292%
- Paraná 0.276%
- Rio Grande do Sul 0.273%
- São Paulo 0.272%
- Santa Catarina 0.269%
All states
| State | People | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| São Paulo | 120,995 | 0.272% |
| Rio de Janeiro | 46,827 | 0.292% |
| Minas Gerais | 41,697 | 0.203% |
| Paraná | 31,583 | 0.276% |
| Rio Grande do Sul | 29,755 | 0.273% |
| Bahia | 25,100 | 0.178% |
| Santa Catarina | 20,446 | 0.269% |
| Pernambuco | 18,333 | 0.202% |
| Pará | 13,383 | 0.165% |
| Goiás | 13,022 | 0.185% |
| Ceará | 12,600 | 0.143% |
| Maranhão | 9,416 | 0.139% |
| Espírito Santo | 8,513 | 0.222% |
| Mato Grosso | 7,199 | 0.197% |
| Mato Grosso do Sul | 6,570 | 0.238% |
| Paraíba | 5,856 | 0.147% |
| Distrito Federal | 5,820 | 0.207% |
| Alagoas | 5,453 | 0.174% |
| Amazonas | 5,300 | 0.135% |
| Rio Grande do Norte | 4,407 | 0.133% |
| Piauí | 4,222 | 0.129% |
| Sergipe | 3,234 | 0.146% |
| Rondônia | 3,128 | 0.198% |
| Tocantins | 2,087 | 0.138% |
| Acre | 1,105 | 0.133% |
| Amapá | 987 | 0.135% |
| Roraima | 868 | 0.136% |
States with fewer than 15 people with the name are not shown: IBGE does not publish those counts.
About the name Sandra
The Dicionário de Nomes em Uso no Brasil (Dictionary of Names in Use in Brazil), citing Machado (1981), says that Sandra comes from Italian Sandra, formed from Sandro, a hypocoristic of Alessandro. Wiktionary's Italian entry treats Sandra as a diminutive of Alessandra, and Behind the Name as a short form of Alessandra, the Italian form of Alexandra. Alexandra is the feminine of Alexander, from Greek Alexandros, 'defender of men', from alexo, 'to defend, to help', and aner, 'man'. In the 2022 Census, IBGE recorded 447,906 people named Sandra, with a median age of 49. Proportionally, it is most common in Rio de Janeiro.
Sources
- Dicionário de Nomes em Uso no Brasil: Sandra · dicionariodenomesdobrasil.com.br · origin
- Wiktionary: Sandra (Italian) · en.wiktionary.org · origin
- Behind the Name: Sandra · behindthename.com · origin
- Behind the Name: Alessandra · behindthename.com · origin
- Behind the Name: Alexandra · behindthename.com · meaning
- Behind the Name: Alexander · behindthename.com · meaning
Questions about the name Sandra
What does the name Sandra mean?
Sandra means “short form of Alessandra, feminine of Alexandre: 'defender of men'”, according to Behind the Name.
How many people are named Sandra in Brazil?
IBGE's 2022 Census recorded 447,906 people with the first name Sandra, which ranks it number 55 among the country's names. The largest group was born in the 1970s.
Is Sandra a boy's or a girl's name?
Sandra is a female name: in the 2022 Census, 446,251 women and 1,655 men had this name.
What is the origin of the name Sandra?
Sandra is a name of Italian and Greek origin. The sources are listed at the end of the page.
In which Brazilian state is Sandra most common?
Proportionally, in Rio de Janeiro: 0.292% of the state's population is named Sandra (46,827 people), according to the 2022 Census.
Names that also mean protection
See all- Raimunda♀Feminine form of Raimundo, 'counsel' and 'protection'239,817 people
- Alessandra♀Italian form of Alexandra, 'defender of men'236,803 people
- Vilma♀Form of Wilma, from Wilhelmina, feminine of Wilhelm124,601 people
- Alexandra♀Feminine form of Alexandre, 'defender of men'90,519 people
- Alexia♀Feminine form of Alexis, 'helper, defender'33,124 people
- Wilma♀Short form of Wilhelmina, feminine of Wilhelm, "will" + "helmet,…24,097 people
- Socorro♀Help, aid15,341 people
- Alexandrina♀Elaborated form of Alexandra, feminine of Alexander, 'defender of men'6,742 people
More names of Italian origin
See all- Rita♀Short form of Margherita, a name that comes from Greek margarítes,…309,366 people
- Bianca♀White277,714 people
- Milena♀Dear, gracious (from the Slavic element milŭ)199,909 people
- Geovana♀Variant of Giovanna, the Italian feminine of João, 'Yahweh is…185,085 people
- Giovana♀Italian feminine of Giovanni (João), 'Yahweh is gracious'135,752 people
- Emanuele♀'God is with us' (from Emmanuel, in Hebrew)79,825 people
- Mirela♀Probably from the Occitan verb mirar, 'to admire'64,067 people
- Paola♀Feminine form of Paulo, 'small'61,663 people
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