# Alexander (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/alexander/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A Scottish surname originating as a patronymic, anglicized from Scottish Gaelic Mac Alasdair (“son of Alexander”).

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Scottish Gaelic |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 204,621 |
| US rank (2010) | 118 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 1,509 people |
| Change since 2000 | +5.8% (193,443 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˌælɪɡˈzændɚ/, 4 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## 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.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Alexander in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 58% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 34% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 3.2% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 1.2% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.7% |
| Two or more races | 2.7% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Alexander in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Hungary and Ireland.

## People named Alexander

- Jason Alexander, American actor, comedian, director and television host
- Jane Alexander, American actress (born 1939)
- Sasha Alexander, American actress (born 1973)
- Khandi Alexander, American dancer, choreographer, and actress
- Paul Alexander, American lawyer and polio survivor (1946–2024)
- Lamar Alexander, American politician
- Lloyd Alexander, American children's writer (1924-2007)
- Monique Alexander, American pornographic actress
- Samuel Alexander, Australian-born British philosopher (1859-1938)
- Christopher Alexander, American architect and design theorist (1936-2022)
- Franz Alexander, American Hungarian-born psychoanalyst (1891-1964)
- Claudia Alexander, American geophysicist and planetary scientist (1959-2015)

and 84 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Alexandre, Alejandro, Alejandre, Allison, Alcantar, Alcantara, Alcon, Alison.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.