Sandra
Around 55,000 Polish women carry it, but it barely reaches newborns now: just 83 girls last year. Sandra is the short form of Aleksandra, a Slavic name meaning "defender of man".
Sandra Pronunciation
Sandra is pronounced SAHND-rah (/ˈsandra/).
What Sandra means
Where Sandra comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Sandra comes to Polish ears as a short, sure form of Aleksandra, the fuller name it stands beside. The meaning carried by both is "defender of man," obrończyni ludzi in Polish, a sense of guarding and standing in front of others. Its roots sit in Slavic naming, where Aleksandra long felt at home.
The shorter Sandra travels light. It fits a class register in two quick syllables. When softness is wanted, there is Sandrina, a diminutive that rounds the edges.
Sandra reads as modern and direct. Yet the older Aleksandra stands behind it, lending the meaning of a woman who defends her people. A girl named Sandra can reach for the long form on an official document at the urząd and be, in the same breath, an Aleksandra.
The last word stays simple. Sandra means obrończyni ludzi, defender of man.
When Sandra celebrates name day
Sandra appears 2 times in the Polish name day calendar, 1 of them as a main name, the first on 26 August.
The days Polish calendars list this name on. By custom you celebrate one of them, usually the first after your birthday.
Rarer dates. Only the most complete calendars add this name on these days. Most skip them, so hardly anyone celebrates then.
How many people are named Sandra
1 in 413 women in Poland is named Sandra. 54,612 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #178 among female names.
Sandra's popularity over time
83 girls were given the name in 2025, ranking #270 among newborns. It has been falling steadily since 2000. Still the #178 name among living women, even as it slips to #270 among newborns.
Where Sandra is most popular
Sandra is most popular in Lublin, 50% above the national average (79 girls born 2019–2025), followed by Subcarpathian (+38%) and Lesser Poland (+28%). It is least common in Opole and Pomeranian, 28% and 17% below average respectively.
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Lublin79 girls born+50%
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Subcarpathian85 girls born+38%
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Lesser Poland149 girls born+28%
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Świętokrzyskie34 girls born+20%
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Podlaskie38 girls born+13%
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Łódź64 girls born−1%
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West Pomeranian42 girls born−3%
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Masovian168 girls born−8%
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian50 girls born−11%
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Silesian104 girls born−11%
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Warmian-Masurian32 girls born−13%
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Lubusz22 girls born−14%
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Lower Silesian68 girls born−16%
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Greater Poland93 girls born−16%
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Pomeranian63 girls born−17%
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Opole17 girls born−28%
Sandra as a middle name
Sandra is a first name for 54,612 women in Poland and a middle name for another 12,516, an 81/19 split. In the women's middle-name ranking it sits 100th, between Lena (12,610) and Gertruda (12,475).
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#98 Ilona12,931
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#99 Lena12,610
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#100 Sandra12,516
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#101 Gertruda12,475
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#102 Anita12,390