2000
#111
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 193,443
First available Census row
Per 100,000 71.71
Common Last name
Alexander
A patronymic surname derived from the given name Alexander, meaning "defender of the people" in Greek.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 226,747 Americans carry the last name Alexander. That puts it at #120 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 66.15 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,512 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Alexander surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Alexander with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
227K
1 in 1,512
Census rank
#120
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
66.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
198K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 197,734 bearers of the surname Alexander in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 66.15 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 120th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Alexander, the largest self-reported group is White at 55.2%. The next largest groups are Black (33.3%) and Two or More Races (5.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Alexander
The surname Alexander is derived from the Greek name Alexandros, which means "defender of men." This name has its origins in ancient Greece and is believed to have first appeared in the 4th century BC.
The name Alexander is thought to have spread across Europe during the time of the Roman Empire, as Greek culture and language had a significant influence on the Romans. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the surname can be found in medieval manuscripts and records from various European regions.
One of the most notable bearers of this surname was Alexander the Great, the legendary Macedonian king who lived from 356 BC to 323 BC and conquered much of the known world at that time. His conquests and exploits helped to spread the name Alexander throughout the lands he conquered.
In Britain, the surname Alexander can be traced back to the Norman Conquest of 1066. It is believed that some of the Norman invaders bore this name, and it was subsequently adopted by the local population. The Domesday Book, a record of landowners compiled in 1086, includes several entries for individuals with the surname Alexander.
Another famous bearer of this surname was Alexander Nevsky, a prince of Novgorod and Grand Prince of Vladimir who lived from 1220 to 1263. He is revered as a national hero in Russia for his military victories against the Swedes and the Teutonic Knights.
During the Renaissance period, the name Alexander gained further popularity due to the influence of classical Greek and Roman culture. Notable individuals with this surname include Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and the first Secretary of the Treasury.
Other historical figures with the surname Alexander include Samuel Alexander (1859-1938), a British philosopher and one of the founders of the school of thought known as British Idealism, and Sir William Alexander (1567-1640), a Scottish poet and courtier who was granted a large territory in North America, which he named Nova Scotia.
Throughout history, the surname Alexander has been associated with various place names and has undergone various spelling variations, such as Alesaundre, Alisaundre, and Alysaundre, reflecting the linguistic and cultural influences of different regions and time periods.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alexander
Among Census respondents with the surname Alexander, the largest self-reported group is White at 55.2%. The next largest groups are Black (33.3%) and Two or More Races (5.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Alexander bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Alexander surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White55.2% · 109,132
- Black or African American33.3% · 65,943
- Two or more races5.0% · 9,791
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 8,438
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 3,065
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1,365
Timeline
Historical Census data for Alexander
Alexander appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#118
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 204,621
+11,178 bearers (+5.8%)
Per 100,000 69.37
Rank movement Down 7 places
2020
#120
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 197,734
-6,887 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 66.15
Rank movement Down 2 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #111 | 193,443 | 71.71 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #118 | 204,621 | 69.37 | +11,178 bearers (+5.8%) | Down 7 places |
| 2020 | #120 | 197,734 | 66.15 | -6,887 bearers (-3.4%) | Down 2 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Alexander surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #118 | #120 | -1.7% |
| Count | 204,621 | 197,734 | -3.4% |
| Per 100K | 69.37 | 66.15 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Alexander bearers went from 204,621 to 197,734 (-3.4% change). The surname moved down 2 positions in the national ranking, going from #118 to #120.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Alexander
FAQ
Alexander surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Alexander?
Name Census estimates that about 226,747 living Americans carry the surname Alexander. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,512 residents.
How common is Alexander?
Alexander ranks #120 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 66.15 per 100,000 residents, which is about 66 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 197,734 people with the surname Alexander. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (226,747), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 66.15 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 66.15 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 66 of them to have the surname Alexander.
Has Alexander become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Alexander went from 204,621 recorded bearers to 197,734. That is a decrease of 6,887 (-3.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #118 to #120.
What does the Census say about the background of Alexander?
Among Census respondents with the surname Alexander, the largest self-reported group is White at 55.2%. The next largest groups are Black (33.3%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Alexander in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.2% (109,132 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Alexander appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (55.2%), Black (33.3%), Two or More Races (5.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Alexander (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Alexander mean?
A patronymic surname derived from the given name Alexander, meaning "defender of the people" in Greek. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Alexander (66.15 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Alexander?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.