boy's name
Alec
AL-ik
- Origin Scottish
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 4
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 63,637
the United States
#979
2025 births
Alec means defender of men, and France ranks it 536th — above the United States at 979th, which is not where a Scottish short form of a Greek name would be expected to lead.
- Alec is a name of Scottish origin.
- Peaked in 1995, when 3,457 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 14,168 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Alec over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 66 |
| 1890s | 61 |
| 1900s | 104 |
| 1910s | 419 |
| 1920s | 513 |
| 1930s | 299 |
| 1940s | 443 |
| 1950s | 653 |
| 1960s | 974 |
| 1970s | 901 |
| 1980s | 3,058 |
| 1990s | 26,122 |
| 2000s | 13,781 |
| 2010s | 6,091 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 2,004 |
What Alec means
Alec means defender of men, or one who wards off men. The Greek compound joins a verb meaning to defend to the word for a man, so it describes an action.
Where Alec comes from
Alec shortens Alexander, from the Greek Alexandros — alexein, to defend or ward off, joined to aner, andros, a man. Alexander the Great carried it across Asia, which is why forms of it appear from Scotland to Afghanistan, where Iskandar is the same name. Alec is specifically the Scottish short form, where Alexander has been a royal name since the twelfth century; English generally shortened to Alex instead.
Alec in use
Alec peaked in the United States in 1995, when 3,457 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 536th in France on 85 births — its strongest market — then 604th in Scotland on 5, 979th in the United States on 234, 1030th in England and Wales on 30 and 1044th in Ireland on 3, across 63,637 lifetime births in six of the seven markets we track.
How popular is Alec?
In 2025, Alec was given to 234 babies in the United States, ranking #979 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Alec is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Alec
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Alec also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Alec over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Alec in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Czech
- Alexander
- Danish
- Alexander
- German
- Alexander
- Greek
- Alex
- Icelandic
- Alexander
- Italian
- Alex
- Latin
- Alexander
- Norwegian
- Alexander
- Slovak
- Alexander
- Slovene
- Alex
- Swedish
- Alexander
- Other forms
- Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
- Alastair
Sibling names for Alec
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Alec — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Alec
What does the name Alec mean?
Defender of men — the Greek alexein, to ward off, joined to andros, a man.
Is Alec Scottish?
The short form is. Alexander has been a Scottish royal name since the twelfth century.
Is Iskandar the same name?
Yes — Alexander, carried east and reshaped by Persian and Arabic.
Where is Alec most used?
France at 536th, ahead of the United States at 979th.
How popular is the name Alec?
In 2025, Alec was given to 234 babies in the United States, ranking #979 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Alec a girl's or a boy's name?
Alec is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Alec?
Alec has 2 syllables.
When was Alec most popular?
Alec peaked in 1995, when 3,457 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.
Is Alec a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Alec currently ranks #536 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.