Oleksandr
The Ukrainian counterpart of Aleksander, from the Greek for "defender of men". Given only to boys, it surged in the early 2020s and now sits just inside the top 150, easing back from that peak.
Oleksandr Pronunciation
Oleksandr is pronounced o-LEK-sahndr (/ɔˈlɛksandr/).
What Oleksandr means
Where Oleksandr comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Oleksandr is the Ukrainian form of a Greek name. Alexandros joined alexein, to defend, with andros, of men, and gave the sense that Polish records as obrońca ludzi, defender of men. The name traveled from Greece into Slavic lands and settled into local mouths, where the opening vowel softened and Aleksander became Oleksandr.
In Poland the name comes bound to its Ukrainian neighbor. Read a school register in a border town and you may find an Oleksandr sitting a few desks from an Aleksander. Same root, two spellings.
The name bends easily toward its people. It gives Oleksandra and Aleksandra for a daughter, and shortens to Ola when the full form feels too long for a hurried morning. Ola fits a name tag. The variant Aleksandra keeps the same meaning, obrońca ludzi, defender of men.
How many people are named Oleksandr
1 in 180 men in Poland is named Oleksandr. 118,628 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #115 among male names.
Oleksandr's popularity over time
112 boys were given the name in 2025, ranking #241 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2017. Still the #115 name among living men, even as it slips to #241 among newborns.
Where Oleksandr is most popular
Oleksandr is most popular in Lubusz, 120% above the national average (28 boys born 2019–2025), followed by Łódź (+57%) and Lower Silesian (+51%). It is least common in Świętokrzyskie and Podlaskie, 86% and 82% below average respectively.
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Lubusz28 boys born+120%
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Łódź51 boys born+57%
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Lower Silesian61 boys born+51%
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West Pomeranian32 boys born+48%
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Masovian120 boys born+32%
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Pomeranian46 boys born+22%
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Greater Poland66 boys born+20%
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Silesian59 boys born+1%
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Opole10 boys born−15%
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Lesser Poland35 boys born−40%
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian16 boys born−43%
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Lublin11 boys born−58%
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Warmian-Masurian6 boys born−67%
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Subcarpathian8 boys born−74%
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Podlaskie3 boys born−82%
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Świętokrzyskie2 boys born−86%
Oleksandr as a middle name
Oleksandr is a first name for 118,628 men in Poland and a middle name for another 62, a 100/0 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 928th, between Murat (62) and Onur (62).
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#926 Leonel62
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#927 Murat62
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#928 Oleksandr62
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#929 Onur62
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#930 Sanjay62