# Alexander (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/alexander/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Greek |
| Meaning | “to defend”, “man” |
| Pronunciation | /ˌælɪɡˈzændɚ/, 4 syllables |
| Nicknames | Lex, Alec, Elsie, Aleck, Sander, Xander, Zander, Sawney, Xan, Alek, Ack, Al |
| Variant spellings | Iskander, Iskandar, Eskinder, Askander, Scandar, Sikandar |
| US babies named this | 740,668 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 736,123 / 4,545 (1% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 86,796, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Middle English Alexander, Alexandre, from Latin Alexander, from Ancient Greek Ἀλέξανδρος (Aléxandros), from ἀλέξω (aléxō, “to defend”) + ἀνδρ- (andr-), the stem of ἀνήρ (anḗr, “man”). Doublet of Alastair, Alejandro, Iskandar, Sikandar, Alessandro, and Alexandre.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 34 | 4,249 |
| 2012 | 28 | 4,970 |
| 2013 | 30 | 4,651 |
| 2014 | 33 | 4,358 |
| 2015 | 22 | 5,846 |
| 2016 | 18 | 6,674 |
| 2017 | 21 | 5,832 |
| 2018 | 20 | 6,025 |
| 2019 | 23 | 5,452 |
| 2020 | 9 | 10,295 |
| 2021 | 21 | 5,756 |
| 2022 | 11 | 9,090 |
| 2023 | 11 | 9,017 |
| 2024 | 10 | 9,589 |
| 2025 | 14 | 7,502 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 15,717 | 8 |
| 2012 | 15,259 | 9 |
| 2013 | 14,923 | 8 |
| 2014 | 15,449 | 8 |
| 2015 | 14,584 | 8 |
| 2016 | 13,446 | 11 |
| 2017 | 12,577 | 13 |
| 2018 | 12,110 | 11 |
| 2019 | 11,327 | 10 |
| 2020 | 10,268 | 10 |
| 2021 | 9,425 | 13 |
| 2022 | 8,757 | 17 |
| 2023 | 7,918 | 22 |
| 2024 | 7,547 | 27 |
| 2025 | 7,230 | 30 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 2,819 | 23 |
| 2012 | 2,836 | 27 |
| 2013 | 2,837 | 24 |
| 2014 | 2,978 | 22 |
| 2015 | 2,759 | 22 |
| 2016 | 2,567 | 21 |
| 2017 | 2,524 | 22 |
| 2018 | 2,517 | 22 |
| 2019 | 2,344 | 21 |
| 2020 | 1,909 | 26 |
| 2021 | 1,830 | 27 |
| 2022 | 1,651 | 28 |
| 2023 | 1,456 | 34 |
| 2024 | 1,365 | 36 |
| 2025 | 1,271 | 40 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: إِسْكَنْدَر, أَلِكْسَنْدَر, اَلإِسْكَنْدَر
- Armenian: Ալեքսանդր
- Bulgarian: Алекса́ндър
- Catalan: Alexandre
- Chinese: 亞歷山大 /亚历山大
- Czech: Alexandr
- Danish: Alexander
- Dutch: Alexander
- Esperanto: Aleksandro
- Estonian: Aleksander
- Finnish: Aleksanteri
- French: Alexandre
- Georgian: ალექსანდრე
- German: Alexander
- Greek: Αλέξανδρος
- Hebrew: אלכסנדר
- Hindi: सिकन्दर, सिकंदर, इसकन्दर, इसकंदर
- Hungarian: Sándor
- Icelandic: Alexander
- Indonesian: Iskandar

## People named Alexander

- Alexander Graham Bell, Canadian-American scientist inventor of telephone (1847–1922)
- Alexander Pope, English poet (1688–1744)
- Alexander Hamilton, American Founding Father and statesman (1755/1757–1804)
- Alexander I, 6th Pope of the Catholic Church from c. 107 to c. 115
- Alexander Dubček, first Secretary of the Czechoslovak Communist Party (1921-1992)
- Alexander Stubb, Finnish politician and the 13th President of Finland (2024–)
- Alexander Schallenberg, Chancellor of Austria in 2021 and 2025
- Alexander Todd, British biochemist and Nobel laureate (1907-1997)
- Alexander Grothendieck, French mathematician (1928–2014)
- Alexander Calder, American artist (1898–1976)
- Alexander McQueen, British fashion designer (1969–2010)
- Alexander V, Catholic cardinal and antipope (1339-1410)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.