Sancha

Girl · Latin

Sancha

Say it: SAHN-chah

Try it with your surname

Meaning

Feminine of Sancho, from Latin Sanctius, probably based on sanctus 'holy, consecrated'.

Likelythe main view, with some doubt.

Common among royal and noble women of León, Castile, Navarre and Aragon in the 10th to 13th centuries.

Its wave through time

Rare in the records

In the United States

12 babies given this name since 1973
At its height in 1973, about 1 in 208,300 girls
Fewer than 5 babies a year in 2020

Through the ages

Used by

Spanish Catalan Portuguese Basque

The family of the name

Catalan	Sança
Portuguese	Sancha

Famous bearers

Sancha of León, queen of Ferdinand I
Sancha of Castile, queen of Aragon

Names worth a look

MayorGirlFrom Spanish mayor 'elder, greater' (Latin maior), probably first marking an eldest daughter.Early Medieval · forgotten

CaeciliaGirlFeminine of Caecilius, a Roman family name; ancient writers linked it to caecus 'blind', which is not proven.Rome

UrracaGirlOrigin unknown. It resembles Spanish urraca 'magpie', but whether the name comes from the bird word, from Basque or…Early Medieval · forgotten

TodaGirlUncertain. Possibly a short form of a longer name such as Teodora, or of Basque origin; no explanation is settled.Early Medieval · forgotten

OnecaGirlUncertain. Usually taken as a feminine counterpart of the Basque masculine Enneco (Íñigo, Eneko), itself of…Early Medieval · forgotten

AndregotoGirlUncertain. The first part may be Basque andre 'lady'; the second, also seen in the name Goto, is unexplained.Early Medieval · forgotten

SantiagoBoyFrom Sant Iago 'Saint James', the apostle venerated at Compostela; James comes from Hebrew Ya'aqov.Middle Ages · peak 2019

SanchoBoyFrom Latin Sanctius, probably from sanctus 'holy, consecrated'.Early Medieval · forgotten

Where this comes from

Royal and noble genealogies
Medieval Spanish and Portuguese chronicles and charters
United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source

Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.

Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.