Chandra

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Chandra

Gender: Masculine, Feminine
Language: Sanskrit
Etymology:
Chandra comes from “candra” (moon), which comes from “cand” (to shine), and is the name of a god of the moon.

History:
Chandra is an Indian name, used for both males and females in India.

Chandra is first found in the United States in the 1960s as a feminine name, perhaps being used as an alternative to Sandra, or Shawna.

Pronunciation: chun-drah, chan-drah, shan-drah.

Alternates: Candra, Chanda, Shanadra, Shanda, Chander.

Famous Bearers:
Artists and Authors:
Bankim Chandra Chatterjee (m., 1838-1894)
Indian novelist.

Political Figures:
Subhas Chandra Bose (m., 1897-1945)
Indian nationalist.

Scientists and Inventors:
Sir Jagadis Chandra Bose (m., 1858-1937)
Indian physicist and physiologist.

Popularity:
Percentage from the 1990 U.S. Census, for females:
0.014 % of females named Chandra
0.006 % of females named Shanda
0.004 % of females named Chanda
0.003 % of females named Shandra

Popularity of Chandra:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1880-1955: N/A
1956: 943rd most popular.
1957: 788th most popular.
1958: 641st most popular.
1959: 755th most popular.
1960: 834th most popular.
1961: 759th most popular.
1962: 759th most popular.
1963: 664th most popular.
1964: 636th most popular.
1965: 567th most popular.
1966: 504th most popular.
1967: 470th most popular.
1968: 432nd most popular.
1969: 378th most popular.
1970: 358th most popular.
1971: 356th most popular.
1972: 341st most popular.
1973: 337th most popular.
1974: 318th most popular.
1975: 307th most popular. - Peak!
1976: 325th most popular.
1977: 341st most popular.
1978: 337th most popular.
1979: 392nd most popular.
1980: 396th most popular.
1981: 408th most popular.
1982: 448th most popular.
1983: 448th most popular.
1984: 476th most popular.
1985: 494th most popular.
1986: 517th most popular.
1987: 549th most popular.
1988: 593rd most popular.
1989: 689th most popular.
1990: 784th most popular.
1991: 838th most popular.
1992-2004: N/A

Popularity of Shanda:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1880-1964: N/A
1965: 923rd most popular.
1966: 942nd most popular.
1967: 822nd most popular.
1968: 880th most popular.
1969: 644th most popular.
1970: 621st most popular.
1971: 539th most popular.
1972: 548th most popular.
1973: 477th most popular.
1974: 466th most popular. - Peak!
1975: 496th most popular.
1976: 502nd most popular.
1977: 504th most popular.
1978: 505th most popular.
1979: 557th most popular.
1980: 605th most popular.
1981: 650th most popular.
1982: 727th most popular.
1983: 757th most popular.
1984: 757th most popular.
1985: 783rd most popular.
1986: 777th most popular.
1987: 835th most popular.
1988-2004: N/A

Selected Sources:
The Penguin Dictionary of First Names, Pickering, 1999

The Social Security Administration Actuarial Note 139 (www.ssa.gov) - For popularity stats 1880-Present
The 1880 U.S. Census- For popularity stats 1850-1880, and other information (it is available on-line at www.familysearch.org)