THE NAME REPORT · FIRST-NAME VIEW

Cassandra

kə-SAN-drə

NAME PROFILE

  1. Pronunciation & Spelling

    Easy for most readers

    The name is easy to hear, but not always unique to write: forms such as Kassandra compete with the preferred spelling.

    89/100

  2. Everyday Use

    Low risk

    This is more of a speaking burden than a spelling problem. Repeating the full name through a normal day takes noticeable articulation.

    93/100

  3. Lifetime Fit

    Strong lifetime fit

    There is less room to change tone through a familiar short form. That does not make the name unusable; it simply gives it fewer built-in registers.

    90/100

  4. International Mobility

    Travels well, with one adaptation

    Cross-market pronunciation is the main trade-off: the spelling stays recognizable, but the first reading can shift with local language rules.

    95/100

Popularity

Distinctive

#631

Uncommon in current U.S. usage.

U.S. SSA · Girls' names · 2025

Ranked number 631 of 1000 among girls' names in United States for 2025. Public familiarity band: Distinctive. Popularity describes familiarity, not name quality.

About the name

Cassandra's underlying etymology is not settled among the sources consulted; readers should not treat 'excelling among men' or any other proposed gloss as a confirmed literal meaning. What is well documented is her role in Greek myth as the cursed prophetess of Troy.

Origin and history

Κασσάνδρα (Ancient Greek). Greek.

Style through life

Reads as classic, formal, and mythologically weighty for an adult woman; carries a strong late-1990s/2000s US generational marker alongside its ancient Greek associations. A longer, three-syllable name for a young child, softened in casual use by shortened forms like Cassie; its mythological backstory (a prophetess nobody believes) is not something most children will encounter directly.

Regional and cultural use

Cassandra functions in modern English-speaking usage primarily as a name carried by its Greek mythological namesake rather than as a name with an independent, non-mythological usage history; the mythological association (an unheeded prophetess) has also given rise to the general English term 'Cassandra' or 'Cassandra complex' for someone whose accurate warnings go unbelieved, though this broader term usage was not independently verified against a primary source here.

Worth knowing

The double 's' in the middle syllable is sometimes dropped in casual spelling, and the unstressed final syllables can blur in fast speech.

Bottom line

On its own, Cassandra holds up well, with a single specific point worth checking before you decide. Say the name once without spelling it and see which written form comes back; that is the friction you are deciding whether to live with.