Ołeksandr
The Ukrainian spelling of Aleksander, from the Greek for "defender of men". It stays rare in Poland: only 42 men carry it, and most Poles have never met one.
Ołeksandr Pronunciation
Ołeksandr is pronounced o-WEK-sahndr (/ɔˈwɛksandr/).
What Ołeksandr means
Where Ołeksandr comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Ołeksandr is the Ukrainian shape of a very old Greek name, Aléxandros. It joins the verb alexein, to defend, with anér, andrós, the word for man. So the meaning reads as defender of men. The name came from Greece and travelled far, and Ukrainian kept it with the soft ł and the opening O.
Across the border the same name settles into Polish as Aleksander, and a daughter takes Aleksandra. Everyday speech wears it down to Olek or Aleks. These short forms do the work of affection.
The Greek sense never softened. A boy called Ołeksandr is named for defence. On his imieniny the school register still lists the full name in ink, while friends only ever call him Olek.
How many people are named Ołeksandr
1 in 508243 men in Poland is named Ołeksandr. 42 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #5957 among male names.