Meaning and background
The story behind Sondra
Sondra is an English-language variant of Sandra, itself associated with the Alexandra name family. The spelling gained visibility through a character in Theodore Dreiser’s novel An American Tragedy and its film adaptation. Its connection to Sandra is better documented than a supposed separate literal meaning. For a dog, the two strong syllables feel like an established human name, with possible affectionate shortenings left to the owner.
- Origin
- English variant of Sandra, popularised by a character in Theodore Dreiser’s An American Tragedy (1925). Source
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About Sondra
Recorded as a dog’s name
Sondra appears in 2 dog licence records in the 2024 New York City dataset.
How to read this count
These records cover New York City and may count the same dog in more than one licence period. They are not a national popularity ranking.
Pronunciation and rhythm
/sɑndɹə/
US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.
Stress on the first syllable in the recorded US readings.
View dictionary notation
/sɑndɹə/ · primary stress on syllable 1S AA1 N D R AH0
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
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Sources and research notes (2)
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene NYC Dog Licensing Dataset — all seven available extract years, retrieved 24 October 2026 — Recorded name spellings in NYC licence-period rows, extract years 2016–2018, 2022–2024 and 2026. Evidence selects one stated year per name. Annual snapshots overlap; never sum them as unique dogs. No national popularity, etymology or owner naming-intent claim.
- Carnegie Mellon University / CMU Sphinx maintainers CMU US English Pronouncing Dictionary — US English dictionary readings; not owner-specific or exhaustive multilingual pronunciation
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.