Alexander

Alexander: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“defender of men”
Origin
Greek
Say it
al-ig-ZAN-der · 4 syllables
Used for
Boys

From Greek Alexandros, composed of elements meaning 'to defend' and 'man'. It was borne by Alexander the Great and has many international forms.

How popular is Alexander?

20242,261 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Alexander in 20247,527

2024 rank#27 boys

Peak year1993

Total US babies since 1880733,348

Alexander is fading: recent use is about 61% of its level ten years before.

Names like Alexander

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Alexander questions

What does the name Alexander mean?

Alexander means "defender of men". It comes from Greek. From Greek Alexandros, composed of elements meaning 'to defend' and 'man'. It was borne by Alexander the Great and has many international forms.

Is Alexander a boy or girl name?

Alexander is mainly a boy's name in US records (99% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Alexander?

7,527 US babies were named Alexander in 2024. Its peak year was 1993.

How do you pronounce Alexander?

Alexander is usually pronounced al-ig-ZAN-der.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.