Aleksander
From the Greek for "defender of men". It still sits just inside Poland's top 100 boys' names, one you almost certainly know someone by, though it's eased off since a peak in the 2010s.
Aleksander Pronunciation
Aleksander is pronounced ah-lek-SAHN-der (/alɛkˈsandɛr/).
What Aleksander means
Where Aleksander comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
The name comes from Greek Alexandros, built from alexein, to defend, and andros, of man. So its short meaning, defender of men, sits at the root rather than being fixed on later. Alexander of Macedon carried it across the ancient world. It reached Poland much later, worn by rulers including Aleksander Jagiellończyk, king at the turn of the sixteenth century.
Polish speech has shortened it many ways. A boy might be Olek at home, Aleks with friends, Oleś to a grandmother. The cross-gender form is Aleksandra, and Latvian keeps a close cousin in Aleksandrs.
Read a school register in Kraków and the name still appears, sometimes trimmed to Aleks by the teacher. Kings wore it. The old sense holds: defender of men.
When Aleksander celebrates name day
Aleksander appears 30 times in the Polish name day calendar, 4 of them as a main name, the first on 26 February.
The days Polish calendars list this name on. By custom you celebrate one of them, usually the first after your birthday.
Rarer dates. Only the most complete calendars add this name on these days. Most skip them, so hardly anyone celebrates then.
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in 82 days15 JanuaryFriday in 2027
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in 97 days30 JanuarySaturday in 2027
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in 116 days18 FebruaryThursday in 2027
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in 125 days27 FebruarySaturday in 2027
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in 136 days10 MarchWednesday in 2027
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in 144 days18 MarchThursday in 2027
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in 146 days20 MarchSaturday in 2027
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in 150 days24 MarchWednesday in 2027
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in 153 days27 MarchSaturday in 2027
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in 154 days28 MarchSunday in 2027
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in 181 days24 AprilSaturday in 2027
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in 207 days20 MayThursday in 2027
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in 216 days29 MaySaturday in 2027
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in 224 days6 JuneSunday in 2027
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in 257 days9 JulyFriday in 2027
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in 258 days10 JulySaturday in 2027
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in 280 days1 AugustSunday in 2027
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in 290 days11 AugustWednesday in 2027
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in 307 days28 AugustSaturday in 2027
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in 312 days2 SeptemberThursday in 2027
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in 323 days13 SeptemberMonday in 2027
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in 331 days21 SeptemberTuesday in 2027
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in 351 days11 OctoberMonday in 2027
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in 15 days9 NovemberMonday in 2026
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in 30 days24 NovemberTuesday in 2026
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in 37 days1 DecemberTuesday in 2026
How many people are named Aleksander
1 in 134 men in Poland is named Aleksander. 158,982 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #93 among male names.
Aleksander's popularity over time
4,687 boys were given the name in 2025, ranking #5 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2001.
Where parents choose Aleksander
Aleksander is most popular in Holy Cross, 34% above the national average (1,486 boys born 2019–2025), followed by Warmian-Masurian (+22%) and Łódź (+19%). It is least common in Opole and Silesian, 28% and 25% below average respectively.
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Holy Cross
+34%1 in 37 babies
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Warmian-Masurian
+22%1 in 41 babies
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Łódź
+19%1 in 42 babies
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Opole
−28%1 in 70 babies
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Silesian
−25%1 in 66 babies
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Lower Silesian
−16%1 in 60 babies
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Holy Cross+34% 1,486 born1 in 37 babies+34%
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Warmian-Masurian+22% 1,744 born1 in 41 babies+22%
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Łódź+19% 3,007 born1 in 42 babies+19%
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Lublin+18% 2,431 born1 in 42 babies+18%
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Podlaskie+17% 1,534 born1 in 43 babies+17%
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Masovian+14% 8,039 born1 in 44 babies+14%
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Subcarpathian+5% 2,534 born1 in 48 babies+5%
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian+4% 2,263 born1 in 48 babies+4%
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West Pomeranian−4% 1,618 born1 in 52 babies−4%
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Lesser Poland−5% 4,288 born1 in 53 babies−5%
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Greater Poland−6% 4,047 born1 in 53 babies−6%
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Lubusz−12% 873 born1 in 57 babies−12%
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Pomeranian−12% 2,596 born1 in 57 babies−12%
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Lower Silesian−16% 2,637 born1 in 60 babies−16%
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Silesian−25% 3,429 born1 in 66 babies−25%
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Opole−28% 661 born1 in 70 babies−28%
Aleksander as a middle name
Aleksander is a first name for 158,982 men in Poland and a middle name for another 88,645, a 64/36 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 36th, between Dariusz (89,939) and Roman (87,248).
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#34 Rafał97,261
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#35 Dariusz89,939
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#36 Aleksander88,645
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#37 Roman87,248
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#38 Sebastian84,994