Alex is the short form of Alexander, from the Greek Alexandros, and means "defender of the people" or "protector of men", from alexein, to defend, and aner, man. Alexander the Great made the full name famous across the ancient world, and Alex has long stood on its own as a friendly, unfussy given name. In the United States Alex was number 62 among boys in 2000 and has slipped gradually since, to number 134 in 2015 and number 232 in 2025.