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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Alexandra - nicknames?

60 replies

ForRubyFinch · 04/06/2026 08:21

DD3 is on the way and we are thinking Alexandra - what do people think of the nicknames Alex vs Lexie ? Or any others of course ! 🤗❤️😊

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BoleynMemories13 · 04/06/2026 17:30

I prefer Sasha. Out of your two options, Alex.

There was a explosion of Lexi/Lexie (often as a stand alone name) from about 2005-2015 but it seems to be on it's way out again now. It always felt a bit downmarket to me. Hate hate hate the 'sexy Lexi' tag.

donothaveadoughnut · 04/06/2026 16:51

I’ve always loved the name Sasha. The Alexanders / Alexandras that I’ve known over the years have all been known as Alex

Floppyearedlab · 04/06/2026 16:49

Why does such a beautiful classic name require a tacky nickname?

NamingNoNames · 04/06/2026 16:48

A neighbour gave her children 1-syllable names that couldn't be shortened. The names were popular and the younger child was known by a nickname based on his (common) surname.

JustGiveMeReason · 04/06/2026 16:41

These things tend to evolve naturally. Quite often nothing to do with the name itself, but arise from a mispronunciation or something they said or did when they were little.
When giving a long name, just check you don't really hate any of the obvious shortenings, and then wait and see.
You will often find that what you use isn't what gets used by friends as they gain a little independence either.

EnidVance · 04/06/2026 16:28

Alex. Can’t stand Lexi to me it’s trashy.

jsku · 04/06/2026 16:03

The one I know uses Sasha - but it’s a common diminutive to Alexabdra in slavic languages.

Mumoftwoteenagers · 04/06/2026 16:02

If ds had been a girl I wanted Alexandra with Ally for short.

muddyford · 04/06/2026 16:01

Just call her Alexandra. Neghbour has mid-teen Alexander and he's never called anything else.

RitaIncognita · 04/06/2026 16:00

I love the name Alexandra, but I don't care for any of the diminutives. I have known a Lexi and a Xan (although she spelled it Zan).

LivingTheDreamish · 04/06/2026 15:44

Lovely name. I like Lexi or Sasha. Alex is a shame when the name is so pretty, so why turn it into essentially a man’s name.

NamingNoNames · 04/06/2026 14:45

@BotterMon , Because the short versions tend to go out of fashion or Alexandra might want to be Alex at home and Sasha with friends but Sandy at work.

The short forms of Elizabeth definitely fall in and out of fashion. Baby names since 1904: how has yours performed? - Office for National Statistics

BotterMon · 04/06/2026 14:17

If you're going to shorten a name, why on earth don't you just name your child the shortened name?

FWIW Lexi

Londonmummy66 · 04/06/2026 14:15

I thought that Sasha was the traditional diminutive for Alexandra and it is itself a lovely name. (As is Alexandra DD2 has it as a middle name). Shura and Lesia are also Slavic abbreviations for Alexandra and I think Drina is not uncommon in Germany. Wikipedia has quite a list of suggestions some of which are very pretty like Alessia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandra

Alexandra - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandra

BrimfulofSacha · 04/06/2026 14:02

I have a friend called Alexandra and she is 'Andi'

NamingNoNames · 04/06/2026 10:31

Lexi is awful and Alex seems to be far more popular for boys.

Alex
Ally
Sandy
Alexa
Sasha
Sandra
Zandra

WorthySloth · 04/06/2026 10:30

My daughter is Alexandra and most of the time that’s what people call her. Within the family we call her Lexie Lou but that’s for us.

She doesn’t like Alex and absolutely hates Alexa. I don’t like shortenings of names so I use the full names of all my children my husband and my siblings. I only use a nickname if that’s how someone introduced themselves. Hate it when people shorten mine.

Tabarnak · 04/06/2026 10:11

The Alexandra I know is Lexie, which I like.
Zandra like Zandra Rhodes?
Ali

NNs tend to emerge rather than be planned or engineered. Baby Lexie could become LexieLou and then Lou…
A friends baby became Alex then AllyPally then Pally.
And it all changes when they are teens.

WorstPaceScenario · 04/06/2026 10:04

I have an Alexa (born before the Amazon device was invented!). She gets Lex, on the basis I'm not a fan of Lexi and neither is she. I'd anticipated Alex as a nickname for her - and did actually contemplate calling her Alex - but it just never stuck.

TheeNotoriousPIG · 04/06/2026 09:57

I prefer Alexandra as it is, in its full form, because it is so elegant! Ally would be the most likely nickname that I would choose, because if you have a name that is unisex/similar to a boys' name (like Alex) the default thought seems to be that you are male. I got very tired of being assumed to be a boy.

lemoncurdcupcake · 04/06/2026 09:23

Alex
Alix
Lexi
Lex
Sandra/Xandra
Sandy
Allie/Aly
Sasha
Drea
Xan

Or stick with Alexandra, which is beautiful 🤩

InfoSecInTheCity · 04/06/2026 09:19

Ours is Lex, we started with Lexi but she never like the ‘I’ at the end.

Comsicomsa · 04/06/2026 09:18

Hi, I'm an Alexandra. I absolutely hate it when people call me Alex. It's a male name, has none of the grace of Alexandra. Do you have to shorten it? Just use an entirely different name. Noone shortens it around me because I introduce myself with my full name and it has never been an issue.

Silverbirchleaf · 04/06/2026 09:18

Lovely choice, classic but not overused.

You may find a nn comes naturally when she comes - Al, Allie, Alex, Lexie, Ay, or as @elQuintoConyo suggests, something totally different.

stickygotstuck · 04/06/2026 09:16

I know a 17 year old Alexandra who has always gone by her full name.
Now at college her new friends have spontaneously started calling her Alex.

I think nicknames should be that, spontaneous. Alexandra is a beautiful name (biased here 😉). See how things develop as she grows.

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