Alexander

Updated Sept 2015

Alexander ~ Defender of Men ~ Greek

Famous Alexanders
If you feel this name should have something like “the Great” after it, you’re on to something. The most famous Alexander was a Greek King and exemplary military commander who was undefeated in battle. His reign was from 336-323 B.C. The name is as old as mythology and was given to many monarchs and popes throughout history.

Alexander Graham Bell, the Scottish inventor, gave us the telephone. Alexander Fleming gave us penicillin. One of our founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton, adds some American history to the name.

Modern Alexanders include Alexander Skarsgård, Alexander Frey, and Sasha Alexander (since Sasha is a diminutive of Alexander, this name is a little redundant!), to name a few.

A Standout Classic
Alexander is a classic boys' name that has been in the top 300 names for boys ever since America has been recording given names. Its lowest point was in the mid to late 50s, when shorter names were more prevalent for boys. Today, Alexander has been in the top 10 names for the past seven years.

Variations
Common short forms include...

• Alec
• Alex
• Lex
• Xander
• Zander

Almost every language has its own variant of Alexander. Here are just a few.

• Alastair (Gaelic)
• Alec (Scottish)
• Alejo (Spanish)
• Aleksander (Polish, Slovene, Albanian, Estonian, Norwegian, Danish)
• Alessandro (Italian)
• Sander (Dutch)
• Sasha (Russian)
• Saunders (English, Scottish)