Names That Mean Men

Alexandre

French variation of Alexander

"defending men"

What's the difference between Alexander, the usual English spelling of this deeply classical name, and Alexandre, the French version? English speakers might find the proper French pronunciation…

Xan

Diminutive of Alexander

"defending men"

With the plethora of Alexes around, Xan (and Xander) have emerged as hot new nicknames for Alexander. Xan also stands well on its own. It can be found--not surprisingly--in several computer games.

Carleton

English

"settlement of free men"

Carleton has a great meaning behind it, and should really have more popularity than it has found to date. You can shorten it to Carl or keep it upscale and formal in the longer form. Baseball Hall of…

Charlton

English

"Charles' town"

A surname name, most popularly associated with actor Heston, has a blue-blooded ring to it. Charlton is also a more unusual pathway to evergreen nickname Charlie.

Sander

Dutch and Scandinavian, diminutive of Alexander

"defending men"

Sander is a more conventional form of Zander or Xander, heard frequently on its own in Europe. It is now a Top 20 name in Norway, and is also popular in Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Sanders

Scottish diminutive of Alexander

"defending men"

Sanders is one of the S-ending surnames gaining traction as a first name for boys in the US. It jumped nearly 2000 points in popularity this year.

Saunders

English surname, variation of Alexander, Greek

"defending men"

With the new fashion in the US for S-ending surname-names, Saunders could see some use.

Zindel

Yiddish,"defender of men"

"defender of men"

Yiddish form of Alexander.

Eskender

Amharic variation of Alexander

"defending men"

Variation of Alexander.

Ale

Diminutive of Alejandro, Spanish

"defending men"

Commonly heard as a nickname for Alejandro, but a rare sight on the birth certificate. Ale has only made the US charts for boys twice, once in 2005 and again in 2018.

Oleksandr

Ukrainian variation of Alexander, Greek

"defending men"

Aleksej

Slovene variation of Alexios, Greek

"defending men"

Aleksej is the Slovene form of Alexios, making it a cognate of Alexis.

Anaximander

Greek

"master of men"

This extravagant name of a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher could make for a bold alternative to Alexander.

Oleksa

Ukrainian variation of Alexander

"defending men"

One of many variants of the classic Alexander — this particular one is used in Ukraine.

Aleksa

Slavic variation of Alexander

"defending men"

One of many variants of the classic Alexander — this particular one is used in South Slavic countries.

Olexi

Greek

"defending men"

One of the many attractive variations of the classic Alexander.

Olexei

Greek

"defending men"

One of the many attractive variations of the classic Alexander.