Alexander

Alexander comes from the Greek Alexandros, composed of alexein (to defend, to protect) and aner/andros (man). It means 'defender of men' or 'protector of people' — a name carried by one of history's greatest conquerors, Alexander the Great of Macedon, who spread it across the ancient world.

Alexander is a name that has been working for over two thousand years, which suggests it is doing something right. On a pet it sounds simultaneously grand and affectionate — you can feel the history behind it, but it sits warmly in the mouth rather than formally. Dogs named Alexander tend to be given it with a certain knowing pride: this is a large, confident animal whose owner saw fit to match the scale of the name to the scale of the personality. The inevitable shortened forms — Alex, Xander, Lex — give it daily flexibility without losing the full-name grandeur for special occasions.