Cassundra
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "to untangle" or "helper of men".
Name Census estimates that about 86 living Americans carry the first name Cassundra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Cassundra today is around 54 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cassundra births was 1971 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cassundra. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Cassundra. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
86
~ 1 in 3,985,516 Americans
Peak year
1971
11 babies that year
Average age
54
years old
1991 SSA rank
#11,735
Tracked since 1962
Census
Cassundra in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 117 people with the first name Cassundra, which placed it at #50,838 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
#50,838
National first-name rank
People counted
117
117 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
76.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cassundra
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cassundra is Black at 76.9%. The next largest groups are White (12.0%) and Two or More Races (6.8%). 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 Cassundra 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 Cassundra at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American76.9% · 90
- White12.0% · 14
- Two or more races6.8% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Popularity
Cassundra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cassundra from the 1960s through to the 1990s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 47 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cassundra 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 Cassundra 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 Cassundra
The name Cassundra is a variant of the Greek name Kassandra, which has its roots in ancient Greek mythology. It is derived from the elements 'kekastai', meaning 'to shine', and 'andros', meaning 'man'. The name was borne by the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy, who had the gift of prophecy but was cursed by Apollo so that no one would ever believe her predictions.
The earliest recorded use of the name Cassundra can be traced back to ancient Greek literature, where the character of Cassandra appears in various works such as the Iliad by Homer, the Agamemnon by Aeschylus, and the Troades by Euripides. These works depict Cassandra's tragic fate, as she foresaw the destruction of Troy but was unable to convince anyone of her prophecies.
In the Middle Ages, the name Cassundra was relatively uncommon, but it did appear in some historical records. One notable figure was Cassundra of Aragon, a 14th-century Spanish noblewoman who served as the mistress of King Pedro IV of Aragon.
During the Renaissance period, the name gained some popularity, particularly in Italy and France. One famous bearer was Cassundra Fedele, an Italian Renaissance humanist and scholar born in 1465, who was renowned for her knowledge of classical literature and philosophy.
In the 19th century, the name Cassundra saw a resurgence in popularity, largely due to its association with Greek mythology and the romantic literary movement. One notable figure was Cassundra Aurélie Cain, a French poet and novelist born in 1826, who wrote under the pseudonym Claude Vignon.
Another famous Cassundra was Cassundra Vauzanges, a French actress and courtesan born in 1741, who was known for her beauty and wit, and was a prominent figure in Parisian high society during the 18th century.
These are just a few examples of the use of the name Cassundra throughout history, showcasing its rich cultural and literary heritage. While the name has undergone various spellings and variations, its origins in Greek mythology and its association with the tragic figure of Cassandra have endured over time, making it a name with a fascinating and enduring legacy.
People
Cassundra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cassundra 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
Cassundra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cassundra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 86 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cassundra 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 3,985,516 US residents.
Is Cassundra a common name?
We classify Cassundra as "Very Rare". It ranks above 62.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 98 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cassundra most popular?
The single biggest year for Cassundra was 1971, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cassundra is about 54 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Cassundra in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 117 people with the name Cassundra, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #50,838 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 Cassundra 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 Cassundra?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cassundra appears almost entirely female. Of the 118 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Cassundra?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cassundra is Black at 76.9%. The next largest groups are White (12.0%) and Two or More Races (6.8%). 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 Cassundra most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Cassundra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.9% (90 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 Cassundra in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cassundra a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cassundra 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 Cassundra still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cassundra 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 Cassundra 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 Americans are named Cassundra?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.