Alexandra

Alexandra is a name built for a long hallway and a longer lineage. The feminine form of Alexander, from the Greek for "defender of men," it has been worn by Russian empresses, British queens-in-waiting, and the youngest daughter of the last tsar. Four syllables that unfurl like a banner, with a deep bench of nicknames ready to lighten the load: Alex, Lexi, Sasha, Sandy, Allie. It has sat steadily in the American top 300 for decades without ever becoming trendy, which is its own kind of accomplishment. Stately, flexible, and entirely unafraid of the room.