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Alexander

Meaning, origin and pronunciation, with published usage by place and year.

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Meaning

Defender of people.

The dictionary explains Greek elements for defending or helping and man/person. This is a conventional concise interpretation of the compound, not a claim that a bearer has a protective personality. Spelling suggestions mixed into the licensed meaning are not automatically approved as variants.

Origin

Greek.

The exact entry identifies the Greek compound Alexandros. The subsequent German transmission account concerns Swedish use, rather than changing the underlying Greek origin.

English pronunciation

/ˌælɪɡˈzændɚ/

Directly recorded English pronunciation of the exact given-name spelling. General American reading; the entry separately records Received Pronunciation. The plain-text guide is approximate; a bearer’s preferred reading can differ. No audio reused.

Recorded English reading, as published. Accents and preferred pronunciations can differ.

Published name usage

Counts apply only to the exact spelling, place, year and recorded usage shown. Places are separate; these figures are never added into a worldwide total. Missing or suppressed records never mean zero.

Latest published record available for this spelling in each place and recorded usage
PlaceYearRecorded usagePublished birthsRankNotes
Canada2020Girls532512025 figures are preliminary. Quebec counts below five are randomly imputed by the publisher before national aggregation. Accents are removed in the source; this profile was matched only where the catalog spelling was unambiguous. Unpublished values are unknown, not zero. Rank basis: source published.
Canada2025Boys530 · preliminary422025 figures are preliminary. Quebec counts below five are randomly imputed by the publisher before national aggregation. Accents are removed in the source; this profile was matched only where the catalog spelling was unambiguous. Unpublished values are unknown, not zero. Rank basis: source published.
France2025Boys40 (rounded to 5)932Counts are rounded to the nearest multiple of five. Ranks use unrounded publisher counts with randomly ordered ties; equally rounded counts can have different ranks. National coverage excludes Mayotte before 2012. Missing years are unavailable, not zero. Automated direction labels are withheld for this rounded-count series. Rank basis: source published.
England & Wales2025Boys1,27140Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: source published.
Northern Ireland2025Boys4248Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: source published.
Scotland2025Boys15122Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: source published.
Ireland2025Boys9855Names below three occurrences are unpublished. Accent recording changed in 2018; comparisons across that boundary may not describe the same spelling coverage. Counts refer to registrations in the year. Missing years are unavailable, not zero. Rank basis: source published.
United States2025Girls147491Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: calculated from published counts.
United States2025Boys7,23030Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: calculated from published counts.

Canada, Ireland and France coverage includes confidently matched existing profiles only; unmatched spellings are awaiting review. French counts are rounded to five.

Sources & notes

Open an entry for its source, credit, licence and full qualifications. Different name traditions remain separate.

Language of use: English

Checked against cited source

The exact English entry explicitly documents given-name use. This is separate from linguistic origin, nationality, ancestry or religious identity. Credit: Wiktionary contributors; adapted and condensed by Rare Baby Names.

Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.

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This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

CC BY-SA 4.0

Meaning: Defender of people.

Checked against cited source

The dictionary explains Greek elements for defending or helping and man/person. This is a conventional concise interpretation of the compound, not a claim that a bearer has a protective personality. Spelling suggestions mixed into the licensed meaning are not automatically approved as variants. Credit: Eva Brylla and Katharina Leibring, Förnamn i Sverige – kortfattat namnlexikon, second edition (Institutet för språk och folkminnen, 2026), printed pages 51. Original factual summary by Rare Baby Names; copyright remains with Charlotta Seiler Brylla, Katharina Leibring and Isof. No source prose, image or audio reproduced.

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Original factual summary; source rights retained

Nickname: Al

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English given-name relationship. These spellings remain separate in popularity statistics.

Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.

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This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

CC BY-SA 4.0

Nickname: Alek

Checked against cited source

Nickname option: Alek can be used for Alexander. Explicit English diminutive relationship in the reviewed entry. Alek may be an independent given name, and its statistics remain separate. Popularity counts remain separate. Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Source: https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Alek&oldid=83832598. License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Adaptation: Rare Baby Names presents a reviewed reverse link from the documented short-form entry, retaining language, rare-use and uncertainty qualifications. No source audio reused.

Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.

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This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

CC BY-SA 4.0

Nickname: Ally

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Explicit English diminutive relationship; not exclusive to one longer name. Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Source: https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Ally&oldid=87458996. License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Adaptation: Rare Baby Names extracted explicit personal-name relationships, retaining separate spelling statistics. No source audio reused.

Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.

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This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

CC BY-SA 4.0

Nickname: Sasha

Checked against cited source

The reviewed entry explicitly records separate longer-name traditions. This relationship depends on the name tradition; exact spelling-specific counts remain separate.

Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.

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This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

CC BY-SA 4.0

Nickname: Xander

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English given-name relationship. These spellings remain separate in popularity statistics.

Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.

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This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

CC BY-SA 4.0

Nickname: Zander

Checked against cited source

English given-name relationship. These spellings remain separate in popularity statistics.

Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.

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This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

CC BY-SA 4.0

Origin: Greek.

Checked against cited source

The exact entry identifies the Greek compound Alexandros. The subsequent German transmission account concerns Swedish use, rather than changing the underlying Greek origin. Credit: Eva Brylla and Katharina Leibring, Förnamn i Sverige – kortfattat namnlexikon, second edition (Institutet för språk och folkminnen, 2026), printed pages 51,52. Original factual summary by Rare Baby Names; copyright remains with Charlotta Seiler Brylla, Katharina Leibring and Isof. No source prose, image or audio reproduced.

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Original factual summary; source rights retained

English pronunciation: /ˌælɪɡˈzændɚ/

Checked against cited source

Directly recorded English pronunciation of the exact given-name spelling. General American reading; the entry separately records Received Pronunciation. The plain-text guide is approximate; a bearer’s preferred reading can differ. No audio reused. Credit: Wiktionary contributors; adapted and condensed by Rare Baby Names.

Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.

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This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

CC BY-SA 4.0

Related name: Alexandra

Checked against cited source

Related English forms with a shared linguistic source; not interchangeable spellings or a nickname claim. Popularity counts remain separate.

Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.

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This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

CC BY-SA 4.0

Supporting evidence: Isof: independently reviewed Alexander name history

Checked against cited source

The reviewed scholarly entry supports the concise meaning and origin explanation. Proposed histories remain qualified; licensed originals are preserved as superseded evidence. Credit: Eva Brylla and Katharina Leibring, Förnamn i Sverige – kortfattat namnlexikon, second edition (Institutet för språk och folkminnen, 2026), printed pages 51. Original factual summary by Rare Baby Names; copyright remains with Charlotta Seiler Brylla, Katharina Leibring and Isof. No source prose, image or audio reproduced.

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Original factual summary; source rights retained

Syllables: 4 (this documented English reading)

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Vowel-phoneme count for the cited reading only; no universal syllable count or source-language transfer asserted. Credit: Wiktionary contributors; adapted and condensed by Rare Baby Names.

Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.

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This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

CC BY-SA 4.0

country_CA

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country_FR

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country_IE

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Source: NISRA : Website: www.nisra.gov.uk

Attribution: Source: NISRA : Website: www.nisra.gov.uk

License: Open Government Licence v3.0

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(C) Crown copyright. Data supplied by National Records of Scotland.

Attribution: (C) Crown copyright. Data supplied by National Records of Scotland.

License: Open Government Licence v3.0

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Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence

Attribution: Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence

License: Open Government Licence v3.0

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U.S. Social Security Administration

Attribution: U.S. Social Security Administration

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Statistics Canada, Table 17-10-0147-01, 1991–2025, released 23 September 2026.

Credit: Statistics Canada, Table 17-10-0147-01, 1991–2025, released 23 September 2026.

License: Statistics Canada Open Licence

Adaptation: Adapted from Statistics Canada, First names at birth by sex at birth, selected indicators, Table 17-10-0147-01, reference years 1991–2025. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.

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Central Statistics Office, Ireland, VSA50 and VSA60, updated 27 February 2026.

Credit: Central Statistics Office, Ireland, VSA50 and VSA60, updated 27 February 2026.

License: CC BY 4.0

Adaptation: Adapted by Rare Baby Names: joined the published count and rank indicators and matched unambiguous existing spellings. Source values retained.

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Source : Insee, Fichier des prénoms, updated 16 July 2026.

Credit: Source : Insee, Fichier des prénoms, updated 16 July 2026.

License: Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab)

Adaptation: Adapted by Rare Baby Names: column names and sex codes mapped and unique case-only spellings matched to existing profiles. Published rounded counts and ranks retained.

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