Tip: Try the names of friends, pets, celebrities, and fictional characters

First Name
639k
in the U.S.
since 1880

Last Name
205k
in the U.S.
in 2010

Alexander

Origin: Greek
Meaning: Defender of the People
Free Horoscope
Gender: Boy
88^th All Time
8^th in 2015
118^th in 2010

Girls

Boys

First

Last

Similar Names

227k Alexandra (Greek)
7k Alessandro (Italian)
6k Alexandro (American)
5k Alexandre (French)
246 Alexandrina (Greek)

Nicknames and Given Names for Alexander

17k Al
51k Alec
1k Aleck
273k Alex
176k Elsie
3k Lex
1k Sander
79k Sandy
232 Xan

How popular is the baby name Alexander in the U.S.?

Share:
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
LINKEDIN
PINTEREST
E-MAIL

Click Here to Show Chart Data

Year	Total Babies Born	Girls Born	Boys Born	Ranking
1880	211	0	211	#73 boy name
1881	209	0	209	#71 boy name
1882	225	0	225	#79 boy name
1883	187	0	187	#80 boy name
1884	236	0	236	#76 boy name
1885	205	0	205	#78 boy name
1886	206	0	206	#83 boy name
1887	180	0	180	#87 boy name
1888	237	0	237	#82 boy name
1889	185	0	185	#93 boy name
1890	202	0	202	#85 boy name
1891	172	0	172	#95 boy name
1892	202	0	202	#95 boy name
1893	218	0	218	#83 boy name
1894	199	0	199	#96 boy name
1895	199	0	199	#97 boy name
1896	232	0	232	#87 boy name
1897	172	0	172
1898	180	0	180
1899	178	0	178	#98 boy name
1900	261	0	261	#93 boy name
1901	162	0	162
1902	216	0	216	#93 boy name
1903	195	0	195	#100 boy name
1904	203	0	203
1905	210	0	210
1906	204	0	204
1907	279	0	279	#92 boy name
1908	246	0	246
1909	260	5	255
1910	324	0	324
1911	426	0	426	#94 boy name
1912	803	0	803	#97 boy name
1913	942	5	937	#98 boy name
1914	1,176	7	1,169	#98 boy name
1915	1,443	11	1,432
1916	1,593	9	1,584	#100 boy name
1917	1,669	5	1,664	#97 boy name
1918	1,598	7	1,591
1919	1,429	7	1,422
1920	1,482	7	1,475
1921	1,531	0	1,531
1922	1,359	0	1,359
1923	1,299	6	1,293
1924	1,387	5	1,382
1925	1,229	6	1,223
1926	1,151	0	1,151
1927	1,103	10	1,093
1928	1,056	8	1,048
1929	996	10	986
1930	877	5	872
1931	792	0	792
1932	783	8	775
1933	660	0	660
1934	622	6	616
1935	700	0	700
1936	618	5	613
1937	676	0	676
1938	672	7	665
1939	723	0	723
1940	761	0	761
1941	818	0	818
1942	860	0	860
1943	925	0	925
1944	865	0	865
1945	895	5	890
1946	973	8	965
1947	1,080	0	1,080
1948	1,131	0	1,131
1949	1,193	5	1,188
1950	1,173	7	1,166
1951	1,210	0	1,210
1952	1,296	8	1,288
1953	1,262	5	1,257
1954	1,238	0	1,238
1955	1,180	7	1,173
1956	1,241	0	1,241
1957	1,266	7	1,259
1958	1,197	9	1,188
1959	1,176	9	1,167
1960	1,216	13	1,203
1961	1,237	8	1,229
1962	1,234	9	1,225
1963	1,313	5	1,308
1964	1,301	10	1,291
1965	1,340	10	1,330
1966	1,378	8	1,370
1967	1,473	10	1,463
1968	1,790	16	1,774
1969	2,048	22	2,026
1970	2,492	17	2,475
1971	2,387	20	2,367
1972	2,140	17	2,123
1973	2,290	31	2,259
1974	2,406	40	2,366
1975	2,472	29	2,443
1976	2,481	33	2,448
1977	2,743	32	2,711	#97 boy name
1978	2,782	36	2,746	#98 boy name
1979	3,095	35	3,060	#94 boy name
1980	3,331	52	3,279	#91 boy name
1981	4,297	58	4,239	#70 boy name
1982	4,670	83	4,587	#65 boy name
1983	4,880	78	4,802	#63 boy name
1984	6,602	119	6,483	#54 boy name
1985	8,433	147	8,286	#50 boy name
1986	10,803	207	10,596	#41 boy name
1987	12,043	216	11,827	#37 boy name
1988	13,657	331	13,326	#34 boy name
1989	14,755	237	14,518	#32 boy name
1990	16,406	223	16,183	#28 boy name
1991	17,828	193	17,635	#26 boy name
1992	20,273	210	20,063	#23 boy name
1993	20,700	178	20,522	#21 boy name
1994	20,260	164	20,096	#22 boy name
1995	19,589	143	19,446	#21 boy name
1996	18,051	92	17,959	#22 boy name
1997	17,190	80	17,110	#22 boy name
1998	17,546	82	17,464	#22 boy name
1999	17,511	97	17,414	#21 boy name
2000	17,344	64	17,280	#20 boy name
2001	16,764	50	16,714	#20 boy name
2002	17,792	84	17,708	#15 boy name
2003	17,760	55	17,705	#16 boy name
2004	18,032	115	17,917	#15 boy name
2005	18,173	63	18,110	#12 boy name
2006	18,266	51	18,215	#12 boy name
2007	18,166	38	18,128	#11 boy name
2008	18,729	44	18,685	#6 boy name
2009	18,251	34	18,217	#4 boy name
2010	16,789	43	16,746	#6 boy name
2011	15,722	34	15,688	#8 boy name
2012	15,247	28	15,219	#9 boy name
2013	14,898	27	14,871	#8 boy name
2014	15,395	33	15,362	#8 boy name
2015	14,482	22	14,460	#8 boy name

Fun Facts about the name Alexander

How many people with the first name Alexander have been born in the United States? From 1880 to 2015, the Social Security Administration has recorded 639,383 babies born with the first name Alexander in the United States. That's more than enough people named Alexander to occupy the country of Montenegro with an estimated population of 620,029 (as of April 1, 2011).
What year were 5 or more babies first named Alexander? The name was first given to 5 or more babies in the year 1880 when it was given as a first name to 211 new born babies.
When was Alexander first recorded in the United States? The oldest recorded birth by the Social Security Administration for the first name Alexander is Tuesday, November 27th, 1866.
What year had the most people named Alexander born? The highest recorded use of the first name Alexander was in 1993 with a total of 20,522 babies. That's a lot of babies named Alexander!
Random Alexander Factoid: According to the 2014 U.S. Social Security Administration data, the first name Alexander ranks 22^nd in popularity as a baby boy's name in Arkansas. Imagine that, 100 babies in Arkansas have the same name as you in 2014.
Weird things about the name Alexander: Your name in reverse order is Rednaxela. A random rearrangement of the letters in your name (anagram) will give Relandaex. How do you pronounce that?
How many people have the last name Alexander? In 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau surveyed 204,621 people with the last name Alexander.
How likely are you to meet someone with the last name of Alexander? Alexander was ranked as the 118^th most popular last name but is still less than 0.1% of the population!

Help Us Improve

Answer a few simple questions to help us improve the information we display about names on the site.

Where is the name Alexander popular?

View popular names by state or region.

Popularity of Alexander as a first name

The map shows the relative popularity of the name Alexander as a first name in each of the states. See other popular names in Nevada, Connecticut, or Rhode Island.

Popularity of Alexander as a last name

The map shows the relative popularity of the name Alexander as a last name in each of the states. See other popular names in Mississippi, Louisiana, or Texas.

Common last names for Alexander

Smith
Brown
Johnson
Williams
Miller
Wilson
Jones
Campbell
Anderson
Davis
Stewart
Thompson
White
Hamilton
Walker
Ross
Martin
Moore

Common first names for Alexander

Ethnicity Distribution

Ethnicity		Alexander	U.S.
█	White	58.19%	64.26%
█	African American	34.04%	11.96%
█	Asian, Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander	1.24%	4.85%
█	American Indian and Alaska Native	0.70%	0.69%
█	Two or More Ethnicities	2.66%	1.76%
█	Hispanic or Latino	3.17%	16.26%

Of Last Name Alexander

People with the last name Alexander are most frequently White or African American

Entire United States

Meaning, Origin, Inspirations, and Associations

Have you been wondering what does the name "Alexander" mean? The list below shows the origins of Alexander as well as things modernly associated with the name Alexander such as celebrities named Alexander.

Greek

Origin and Meaning of Alexander

The name "Alexander" is of Greek origin, and it means "Defender of the People". It's a name commonly given to boys.

Webster's Unabridged Dictionary

noun Alexander

Senses

1a European herb (Smyrnium olusatrum) somewhat resembling celery widely naturalized in Britain coastal regions and often cultivated as a potherb.
synonyms: Alexanders, black lovage, horse parsley
1the famous king of Macedon, son of Philip; conqueror of Greece and Egypt and Persia; founder of Alexandria -- (356-323 BC).
synonyms: Alexander the Great

Other Dictionary Sources

King of Macedon; conqueror of Greece and Egypt and Persia; founder of Alexandria (356-323 BC)
Synonyms: alexander the great
European herb somewhat resembling celery widely naturalized in Britain coastal regions and often cultivated as a potherb
Synonyms: alexanders, black lovage, horse parsley, and smyrnium olusatrum

Wiktionary

Borrowing from Latin Alexander, from Ancient Greek Ἀλέξανδρος (Aléxandros), from ἀλέξω (aléxō, “I defend”) + ἀνδρ- (andr-), the stem of ἀνήρ (anḗr, “man”).

A male given name, most famously held by Alexander the Great.
A patronymic surname.
Alternative letter-case form of alexander

Alexander was also found in the following language(s): Danish, German, Hungarian, Icelandic, Latin, Norwegian, Scots, Slovak, and Swedish

Notable Persons With the Name Alexander

Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton was a Delegate to the Congress of the Confederation, from New York, 1st United States Secretary of the Treasury, Senior Officer of the Army, Delegate to theCongress of the Confederation, fromNew York, and Commanding General of the United States Army. His military service ended in 1776. Alexander was born on January 11th, 1755 in Charlestown, Saint Kitts and Nevis. He died on July 12th, 1804.

Popularity:

Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great is royalty. He holds the title Basileus of Macedon, Hegemon of the Hellenic League, Shahanshah of Persia, Pharaoh of Egypt, Lord of Asia, BasileusofMacedon, Hegemonof theHellenic League, ShahanshahofPersia, and PharaohofEgypt. He has had major accomplishments since 336. Alexander was born as the child of Philip II of Macedon and Olympias in Pella, Macedon.

Popularity:

Alexander Skarsgård

Alexander Skarsgård is an actor and director. He has had major accomplishments since 1984. Alexander was given the name Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård by his parent Stellan Skarsgård on August 25th, 1976 in Stockholm.

Popularity:

Alec Baldwin

Alec Baldwin is an actor, comedian, producer, and television producer. He was most prominent from 1980 to present. Alec was given the name Alexander Rae Baldwin III on April 3rd, 1958 in Amityville, New York.

Popularity:

Alexander Graham Bell

Alexander Graham Bell was an inventor, scientist, engineer, professor, and teacher of the deaf. Alexander was born on March 3rd, 1847 in Edinburgh. He left this life on August 2nd, 1922.

Popularity:

Alex Jones

Alex Jones is a radio personality, film producer, and radio host. Alex was given the name Alexander Emerick Jones on February 11th, 1974 in Dallas, Texas, United States.

Popularity:

Alex Haley

(writer)
Sir Alexander Fleming

(scientist)
Alexander II

(noteworthy human)
Alexander VI

(pope)
Alex Turner

(musician)
Alexander Radulov

(hockey player)
Alexander III

(royalty)
Alexander McQueen

(fashion designer)
Alexander Pushkin

(poet)
Alexander I

(important individual)
Alexander Van der Bellen

(Leader of the Green Party)
Alexander Siddig

(actor)
Alex Greenwald

(musician)
Alexander Rusev

(influential individual)

Notable Persons With the Last Name Alexander

Diego Luna

Diego Luna is an actor, director, and producer. He has had major accomplishments since 1982. Diego was given the name Diego Luna Alexander on December 29th, 1979 in Mexico City.

Popularity:

Sasha Alexander

Sasha Alexander is an actor and actress. She has had major accomplishments since 1997. Sasha was given the name Suzana S. Drobnjaković on May 17th, 1973 in Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Popularity:

Jaimie Alexander

Jaimie Alexander is an actress. She was most prominent from 2001 to 2001. Jaimie was born on March 12th, 1984 in Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.

Popularity:

Jason Alexander

Jason Alexander is an actor, comedian, and voice actor. He was most prominent from 1981 to present. Jason was given the name Jay Scott Greenspan on September 23rd, 1959 in Newark, New Jersey, U.S.

Popularity:

Larry D. Alexander

Larry D. Alexander is an influential individual in the fields of visual arts, author, catechesis, and evangelism. Larry was given the name Larry Dell Alexander on May 30th, 1953 in Dermott, Arkansas.

Popularity:

Olly Alexander

Olly Alexander is an actor, writer, singer, and musician. His career lasted from 2008 to 2008. Olly was given the name Oliver Alexander Thornton on July 15th, 1990 in Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom.

Popularity: