Xander

ZAN-der
Diminutive of Alexander, Greek
"defending men"

Xander Origin and Meaning

The name Xander is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "defending men".

Xander is a diminutive of Alexander, the Latin variation of the Greek Alexandros. Its meaning, "defending men," is taken from the Greek roots aléxein, "to defend," and andros, "men." Zander, pronounced the same way, is an alternate spelling.

One of the newer short forms of Alexander, Xander is a spelling that first saw the spotlight via Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and then as Vin Diesel's character in XXX. Mad Men star January Jones named her son Xander Dane.

Even shorter forms Xan and Zan are now also being used on their own. Xan is a character in the P. D. James novel The Children of Men and is a favorite choice of computer game creators.

# 215 in the US

Xander Rank in US Top 1000

# 290 on Nameberry

Xander Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Xander Popularity

Famous People Named Xander

  • Xander Yan Bogaerts
    Aruban baseball player
  • Alexander Harper "Xander" Berkeley
    American actor
  • Alexander "Xander" Rawlins
    English singer,songwriter
  • Xander Corvus
    American actor
  • Xander Theodore Shanxi Kostroma
    Welsh fashion designer
  • Alexander "Xander" Angeles
    Filipino fashion photographer
  • Xander Parish
    English ballet dancer
  • Xander McGuire (b. 2004)
    son of actor Eddie McGuire
  • Xander Dane Jones (b. 2011)
    son of actress January Jones
  • Xander Maximilian Perks (b. 2016)
    son of model Noelle Reno and Nick Perks

Xander in Pop Culture

  • Jonathan Alexander (Xander) Emerson
    main male character in Scarlett Avery’s book “Delectably British”.
  • Alexander Lavelle "Xander" Harris
    character on TV's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
  • Xander Carrow
    character in the Matched trilogy by Ally Condie
  • Xander (pronounced "Alexander") Spence
    character in "The Distance Between Us" by Kasie West
  • Xander
    character in the Pandora series by Carolyn Hennesy
  • Xander Clavell
    character in "The Sims 3" computer game
  • Xander
    character in the video game Fire Emblem: Fates
  • Xander
    character on TV's "Bunk'd"
  • Xander Cage
    main protagonist in "xXx" movies series
  • Xander Hale
    character in the Addicted Series