boy's name
Xander
ZAN-der
- Origin Greek
- Gender Boy
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 48,798
the United States
#259
2025 births
Xander is a boy's name, a short form of Alexander meaning defender of men. Our records carry it only from 1990, which makes it the newest name in our data to have passed 45,000 births.
- Xander is a name of Greek origin.
- Peaked in 2017, when 2,421 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 2,483 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1990.
Xander over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1990s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1990s | 362 |
| 2000s | 9,921 |
| 2010s | 19,351 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 10,715 |
What Xander means
Xander means defender of men. It carries the meaning of Alexander, since it is the second half of that name rather than a separate formation.
Where Xander comes from
Xander is clipped from Alexander, the Greek Alexandros — alexein, to defend, joined to aner, a man — and it takes the back half of the name rather than the front, which is the less usual direction for a short form. The x spelling comes from the Dutch, where Xander has been an established independent name for far longer than in English; the Dutch also use Sander for the same clipping. Its English-language rise is datable and recent, and it belongs to the same late-century turn toward x and z initials that lifted Xavier and Zane. Alexander's own history is far older, carried across three continents by Alexander of Macedon and preserved in Iskandar, Sikander and Alessandro.
Xander in use
Xander ranks 178th in Scotland on 25 births, 208th in Northern Ireland, 236th in England and Wales on 212, 259th in the United States on 1,335 and 537th in Ireland. It peaked in the United States in 2017, when 2,421 babies were registered, and is rising in our data. Our records carry it only from 1990, so it has reached 45,450 lifetime births in 35 years — the fastest accumulation of any name in the current Scottish top 200.
How popular is Xander?
In 2025, Xander was given to 1,335 babies in the United States, ranking #259 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Xander 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 Xander
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Xander also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Xander over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Xander
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.
Xander 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.
Sibling names for Xander
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Xander — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Xander
What does the name Xander mean?
Defender of men, carried through from Alexander.
Is it Xander or Zander?
Both are used and sound the same. Xander is the Dutch-derived spelling; Zander is the phonetic one.
Is Xander short for Alexander?
Yes, taken from the end of the name rather than the beginning, which is the less common direction.
How popular is Xander?
178th in Scotland and 259th in the United States, and rising.
Is Xander a girl's or a boy's name?
Xander is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
What are the nicknames for Xander?
Xander is usually shortened to Xan.
Is Xander a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Xander currently ranks #178 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.