Alejandro
A Spanish surname taken from the given name Alejandro, ultimately from Greek meaning “defender of men.”
The #4,563 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 39,736 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Alejandro is a Spanish surname formed from the personal name Alejandro, the Spanish form of Alexander. The name goes back to Greek Alexandros, from alexein meaning “to defend” and anēr/andros meaning “man,” so the literal sense is “defender of men.” As a surname, it is a patronymic or family-name form derived from an ancestral given name rather than from a place or occupation.
History
The surname is especially associated with Spanish-speaking communities, where it developed from the common personal name Alejandro. Historical name lists also show the related given name spreading widely across Europe in many forms. In some cases, families may have adopted it relatively late from a respected ancestor or from the baptismal name tradition rather than from a fixed medieval hereditary surname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same ancient Greek root that gave Alejandro also lies behind the familiar English name Alexander.
From the historical record
“fundian con los demas, como Adan, Eva, Noé, Abraham. Tambien entre los antipuos pueblos del Asia se usaba solo un nombre, como Ciro, Jerjes, Alejandro, Priamo, Héctor, Agamenon, Ulises, Menelao, Casarmmdra, etc. Lo mismo sucedta entre los pueblos de la Jermania, que saliendo del seno de sus ciénagas i pantanos en…”
— Diccionario de los apellidos