boy's name
Alejandro
a-le-HAN-dro
- Origin Greek
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 4
- Letters 9
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 150,540
the United States
#195
2025 births
Alejandro is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "defender of mankind." It is the Spanish form of Alexander, built from alexein, to defend or ward off, and andros, of man.
- Alejandro is a name of Greek origin.
- Peaked in 2001, when 4,577 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 1,800 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1885.
- 4 syllables, with the stress on syllable 3.
Alejandro 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 | 10 |
| 1890s | 10 |
| 1900s | 66 |
| 1910s | 228 |
| 1920s | 732 |
| 1930s | 780 |
| 1940s | 938 |
| 1950s | 1,713 |
| 1960s | 3,109 |
| 1970s | 9,215 |
| 1980s | 15,539 |
| 1990s | 35,528 |
| 2000s | 43,271 |
| 2010s | 25,057 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 11,274 |
What Alejandro means
Alejandro means one who defends people, or protector of mankind. The Greek elements are alexein, to ward off or defend, and aner, a man, in its genitive andros.
Where Alejandro comes from
Alejandro is the Spanish form of the Greek Alexandros — alexein, to defend, and andros, of man. The name predates Alexander the Great: it appears in Mycenaean Linear B tablets over a thousand years earlier, and Homer uses Alexandros as another name for Paris of Troy. Alexander's conquests carried it from Egypt to India, which is why forms of it exist in almost every language between — Iskandar in Arabic and Persian, Sikandar in Urdu, Alessandro in Italian.
Alejandro in use
Our data shows Alejandro falling and it first appears in our records in 1885. Its American use tracks Hispanic naming closely and follows the same decline since the mid-2000s as Carlos, Juan and Jesus — a shift toward names that read identically in English and Spanish.
How popular is Alejandro?
In 2025, Alejandro was given to 1,842 babies in the United States, ranking #195 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Alejandro 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 Alejandro
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Alejandro also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Alejandro over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Alejandro
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Alejandro 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.
- Arabic
- Iskandar
- Bulgarian
- Aleksandar
- Croatian
- Aleksandar
- Danish
- Alexander
- Dutch
- Alexander
- Estonian
- Aleksandr
- German
- Alexander
- Icelandic
- Alexander
- Italian
- Alessandro
- Latin
- Alexander
- Latvian
- Aleksandrs
- Lithuanian
- Aleksandras
- Macedonian
- Aleksandar
- Norwegian
- Alexander
- Polish
- Aleks
- Romanian
- Alexandru
- Russian
- Aleksandr
- Serbian
- Aleksandar
- Serbo-Croatian
- Aleksandar
- Slovak
- Alexander
- Slovene
- Aleksandar Aleks
- Swedish
- Alexander
- Ukrainian
- Oleksandr
- Other forms
- Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
- Andro
Sibling names for Alejandro
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Alejandro — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Alejandro
What does the name Alejandro mean?
Alejandro means "defender of mankind," from the Greek alexein, to defend, and andros, of man.
Is Alejandro the same as Alexander?
Yes — Alejandro is the Spanish form of the same Greek name.
How old is the name Alexander?
It appears in Mycenaean Linear B tablets over a thousand years before Alexander the Great, and Homer uses it for Paris of Troy.
How popular is the name Alejandro?
In 2025, Alejandro was given to 1,842 babies in the United States, ranking #195 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Alejandro a girl's or a boy's name?
Alejandro is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Alejandro?
Alejandro has 4 syllables.
When was Alejandro most popular?
Alejandro peaked in 2001, when 4,577 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Alejandro?
Alejandro is usually shortened to Alex and Ale.
Is Alejandro a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Alejandro currently ranks #195 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.