Boy name · Greek
Alexander
Name meaning, origin and popularity
: defender of menAlexander is a boy's name that comes from Greek and means "defender of men". It is used in English, Scottish, German, Dutch, Scandinavian and Greek and more.
- Meaning
- Defender of men
- Origin
- Greek
- Gender
- Boy
- US rank
- #30 in 2025
Meaning and origin of Alexander
As a boy's name, Alexander comes from Greek and means "defender of men". It is used in English, Scottish, German, Dutch, Scandinavian, Greek, Russian and Spanish.
Alexander is also a surname: the 120th most common in the 2020 US Census, held by 197,734 people. See the most common last names.
Meaning checked against Behind the Name. How we research names
Alexander on Nomezo lists
What our editors wrote about Alexander on 5 lists.
“Defender of men; Greek. Long and grand after a short first name”
From Boy middle names, classic boy middle names
“Defender of men; Greek. The great Macedonian conqueror's name”
From Classic boy names, timeless boy names
“Defender of men; Greek. No. 10 in 2020 (INEGI)”
From Mexican boy names, popular Mexican boy names (INEGI 2020)
“Greek for defender of men; borne by three Scottish kings.”
From Scottish boy names, scottish kings, saints and heroes
“Defender of men; Greek, the undefeated king of Macedon”
From Strong boy names, strong boy names from Greek and Latin
How popular is Alexander?
- US rank in 2025
- #30
- 7,230 babies, 4,233 per million boys
- Best rank
- #4 in 2009
- Most babies: 20,530 in 1993
- Babies since 1880
- At least 736,123
- Years with under 5 are not listed
| 1880s | 1,900 per million |
|---|---|
| 1890s | 1,713 per million |
| 1900s | 1,643 per million |
| 1910s | 1,701 per million |
| 1920s | 1,138 per million |
| 1930s | 671 per million |
| 1940s | 637 per million |
| 1950s | 602 per million |
| 1960s | 736 per million |
| 1970s | 1,510 per million |
| 1980s | 4,443 per million |
| 1990s | 9,443 per million |
| 2000s | 8,960 per million |
| 2010s | 7,560 per million |
| 2020s | 4,935 per million |
| Year | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #11 | #13 | #11 | #10 | #10 | #13 | #17 | #22 | #27 | #30 |
Source: US Social Security Administration baby-name data, 1880 to 2025, as published in 2026. Each spelling is counted separately, a name given to fewer than 5 babies of one sex in a year is left out, and few people born before 1937 have records, which is why the chart shows babies per million rather than raw counts.
Nicknames for Alexander
Established short forms and pet names, not made-up ones.
- Alexcommon English nickname
- Xanderthe stressed syllable of Alexander
- Lexcommon English nickname
- Sandycommon English nickname
- Alcommon English nickname
Other forms of Alexander
The same name in other languages and spellings, with the same meaning and origin.
- AlasdairDefender of men (Greek, boy)
- AlastarDefender of men (Greek, boy)
- AlejandroDefender of men (Greek, boy)
- AlekosDefender of men (Greek, boy)
- AleksanderDefender of the people (Greek, boy)
- AlessandroDefender of men (Greek, boy)
- ÁlexDefender of men (Greek, boy)
- AlexandreDefender of men (Greek, boy)
- AlexandrosDefender of men (Greek, boy)
- AlistairDefender of men (Greek, boy)
- AllyDefender of men (Greek, boy)
- SachaDefender of men (Greek, boy)
Names with a similar meaning
- AlexandraDefender of men (Greek, girl)
- AlexisHelper, defender (Greek, boy)
- SandraDefender of men (Greek, girl)
- AleksandraDefender of the people (Greek, girl)
- AlexaDefender of men (Greek, girl)
- AlexandrinaDefender of men (Greek, girl)
- SandyDefender of men (Greek, boy)
- SashaDefender of men (Greek, unisex)
- XanderShort form of Alexander, defender of men (Greek, boy)
- AlejandraDefender of men (Greek, girl)
Middle names for Alexander
Picked from our middle-name lists with a different first letter and a shorter length, so the full name flows.
More boy names from Greek
- LucasMan from Lucania (Greek, boy)
- ChristianFollower of Christ (Greek, boy)
- LeonA lion (Greek, boy)
- HectorHolding fast (Greek, boy)
- TheoGift of God (Greek, boy)
- LucaMan from Lucania (Greek, boy)
- PeterRock, stone (Greek, boy)
- SebastianMan of sebaste, venerable (Greek, boy)
- AndreasManly, brave (Greek, boy)
- CyrilLordly (Greek, boy)
Alexander: common questions
What does the name Alexander mean?
Alexander comes from Greek and means "defender of men". Checked against Behind the Name.
Is Alexander a boy or girl name?
Alexander is mainly a boy's name. In 2025, 14 girls and 7,230 boys in the US were named Alexander, according to Social Security Administration data.
What are nicknames for Alexander?
Common nicknames for Alexander include Alex, Xander, Lex, Sandy and Al.
How popular is the name Alexander?
Alexander ranked #30 in the US in 2025, with 7,230 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.
What are other forms of Alexander?
Forms of Alexander with the same meaning and origin include Alasdair (Scottish), Alastar (Irish), Alejandro (Spanish), Alekos (Greek) and Aleksander (Polish).
What middle names go with Alexander?
Middle names that flow well with Alexander include Clark, Dale, Ezra, Finn and Jack. A different first letter and a contrasting length usually sound best.