Alexander

Meaning: Defender of mankind
Origin: Latin (from Greek via Latin)

Nicknames: Alex, Sandy, Alec, Ally, Lex

Boy's name · #30 in the US (2025) · 90s wave

Popularity over time

Alexander reached its best rank, #4, in 2009 and ranked #30 in 2025. About 736,000 boys have carried it since 1880. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records.

Across the states

See where Alexander is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 51 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

See how Alexander ranks in other countries and regions.

#12 in Mexico (2024) · #15 in Finland (other-lang.) (2025) · #17 in Austria (2025) · #20 in Finland (Swedish-sp.) (2025) · #22 in Australia (NSW) (2025) · #22 in Scotland (2025) · #28 in Australia (VIC) (2025) · #30 in Australia (QLD) (2025) · #40 in England & Wales (2025) · #41 in New Zealand (2025) · #47 in Denmark (2025) · #48 in Switzerland (2025) and 12 more.

Famous Alexanders

Alexander the Great — King of Macedonia and conqueror of Achaemenid Persia (356–323 BC)
Alexander Pushkin — Russian poet, playwright, and novelist (1799–1837)
Alexander Graham Bell — Canadian-American scientist inventor of telephone (1847–1922)
Alexander Lukashenka — President of the Republic of Belarus
Alexander von Humboldt — Prussian geographer, naturalist and explorer (1769–1859)

In stories & tradition

Alexander (Lex Luthor) — Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (film)
Alexander (Havok) — X-Men (comics)
Alexander Mahone — Prison Break (TV series)

What Alexanders become

Among 17,290 notable people named Alexander:

Military figures appear 2.08× more often than among typical names — e.g. Alexander Suvorov, Russian marshal (1730–1800).

Twin names

Popular twin pairings with Alexander include Nicholas, Benjamin, and Anthony for boys, and Abigail, Sophia, and Isabella for girls.

Spellings & nicknames

About 1,900 boys a year are given Alex as their full name, 310 Alec, 120 girls Ally, 78 Lex, and 58 girls Sandy.

Similar names: Xander · Gabriel · Alex · Jacob · Christian · Anthony

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

About · Privacy Policy · Terms of Service