| Timothy | Alexander | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Honoring God | Defender of men |
| Origin | Greek | greek |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | TIM-uh-thee | al-ig-ZAN-der |
| Syllables | 3 | 4 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1880 |
| Peak year | 1959 (30,783) | 1993 (20,530) |
| In 2025 | 1,734 | 7,230 |
| Trend | Declining | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Timothy | Alexander |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 10,984 | 51,145 |
| 2010s | 28,234 | 142,161 |
| 2000s | 52,470 | 178,847 |
| 1990s | 107,772 | 183,952 |
| 1980s | 172,835 | 82,010 |
| 1970s | 181,260 | 24,932 |
| 1960s | 276,837 | 14,168 |
| 1950s | 198,324 | 12,180 |
| 1940s | 43,503 | 9,477 |
| 1930s | 5,105 | 7,095 |
| 1920s | 2,960 | 12,539 |
| 1910s | 1,918 | 11,352 |
| 1900s | 647 | 2,230 |
| 1890s | 650 | 1,954 |
| 1880s | 693 | 2,081 |
Timothy comes from the Greek Timotheos, “honouring God,” from timē (“honour”) and theos (“god”). Timothy was a young companion of the apostle Paul.
From Greek 'alexein' (to defend, protect) and 'aner/andros' (man), so 'defender/protector of men'. Note this is strictly 'defender' rather than 'warrior', though its martial fame comes from Alexander the Great.
Alexander is more popular than Timothy today: about 7,230 US babies were given the name Alexander in 2025, compared with 1,734 named Timothy.
Timothy means Honoring God (Greek origin), while Alexander means Defender of men (greek origin).
In US records, Timothy first appears in 1880 and Alexander in 1880, so Timothy has the longer recorded history.