Alexander
| Alexander | |
| Gender: | Male |
|---|---|
| Origin: | Greek |
| Meaning: | "Protector of man" |
Alexander is a common male first name. It also occurs, less frequently, as a surname.
Origin
 |
The name in English is taken from the Latin "Alexander," which is a Romanization of the original Greek nominative Aλέξανδρος (Alexandros). The genitive form in Greek is Alexandrou.
Etymologically, the name derives from alex-, the compound-form of alexis (from the Proto-Indo-European [PIE] *alek-), meaning "refuge, protection, defence," together with -andros, the compound form of anēr (genitive andros), the Greek word for "man." Thus it may be roughly translated as "protector of man." The term is either a rare type of "inverse tatpurusha" compound, with the modifier in second position (the cognate Sanskrit tatpurusha being *nararakṣa, cf. Ramayana 6.33.45; the exact Sanskrit counterpart would be *rakṣinara, from PIE hleks(i)-hnros), or a worn-down terpsimbrotos type compound, whose original verbal meaning was "he protects men".
The earliest attested record of the name is the Mycenaean of the feminine Alexandra, written in Linear B [1] (The Mycenaean World, by John Chadwick, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1976, 1999). Another early reference to the name may be that to Alaksandu in the 13th century BC.
The name was one of the titles ("epithets") given to the Greek goddess Hera and as such is usually taken to mean "one who comes to the aid of warriors." In the Iliad, the character Paris is known also as Alexander. The name's popularity was spread throughout the Hellenistic world by the military conquests of King Alexander III of Macedon, commonly known as "Alexander the Great" (Μέγας Αλέξανδρος).
Variants and diminutives
- Albanian - Aleksandri, Aleksandër, Lekë, Skënder, Skender, Aleks, Sandër
- Amharic - Eskender
- Arabic - Iskandar, Skandar, Skender
- Belarusian - Аляксандp(Aliaksandr), Алeсь (Ales'), Алелька(Alyel'ka)
- Bosnian - Aleksandar, Aco, Saša, Aleksa, Sandro
- Bulgarian - Алeксандъp (Aleksander), Сашо (Sasho)
- Catalan - Alexandre, Àlex, Xandre
- Croatian - Aleksandar, Aco, Acika, Saša, Sale
- Danish - Aleksander, Alexander
- Dutch - Alexander, Alexandra, Alex, Alexia, Lex, Sander, Sanne, Sandra, Xander
- English - Alexander, Alec, Alex, Lex, Xander, Sandy, Andy, Alexis, Alexa, Alexandria, Alexandra, Sandra, Al, Sasha, Ali, Lexxi, Zander, Xander, Sashi
- Estonian - Aleksander, Sander
- Finnish - Aleksanteri, Aleksi, Santeri
- French - Alexandre, Alexis, Alex
- Galician - Alexandre, Álex
- German - Alexander (short: Alex, Ali, Akki)
- Greek - Αλέξανδρος (Alexandros), Alexis, Alekos/Aleka, Aki
- Hebrew - אלכסנדר (Alexander)
- Hindi - Hindustani - Sikandar
- Hungarian - Sándor
- Icelandic - Alexander
- Italian - Alessandro, Leandro, Ale, Sandro, Alessio
- Kazakh - Ескендiр
- Lithuanian - Aleksandras
- Malay - Iskandar
- Maltese - Lixandru
- Norwegian - Alexander, Aleksander
- Persian - Eskandar
- Polish - Aleks, Aleksander, Olek
- Portuguese - Alexandre, Alexandro (rare), Alexandra, Xana (feminine), Xano, Alex, Xande, Xanocas
- Romanian - Alexandru, Alec, Alex, Alle, Alecu, Sandu
- Russian - Александp (Aleksandr), Алик (Alik), Саша (Sasha), Саня (Sanja), Санёк (Sanjok), Шура (Shura), Шурик (Shurik)
- Sanskrit language - Alekchendra
- Scots Gaelic - Alasdair, Alastair, Alistair
- Serbian - Александар, Аца, Саша, Алексa - Aleksandar, Aca, Saša, Aleksa
- Slovenian - Aleš, Sandi, Sanja, Sandra, Saša, Sašo
- Spanish - Alejandro, Ale, Alejo
- Swedish - Alexander
- Turkish - İskender
- Ukrainian - Олександр (Oleksandr), Сашко (Sashko), Олелько (Olelko, rare)
- Urdu - Hindustani - Sikandar
- Urdu - Pakistani - Sikander ("Sikander-e-Azam" is "Alexander the Great")
- Uzbek - Iskandar
- Yiddish - סענדער - Sender, Senderl
People known as just Alexander
Monarchs
Antiquity
- Alaksandu, ca. 1280 BC
- Alexander of Corinth, 10th king of Corinth (816-791 BC)
- Alexander I of Macedon
- Alexander of Pherae despot of Pherae between 369 and 358 BC
- Alexander I of Epirus king of Epirus about 342 BC
- Alexander II of Epirus king of Epirus 272 BC
- Alexander II of Macedon
- Alexander the Great (Alexander III of Macedon), King of Macedon, 336–323 BC
- Alexander IV of Macedon
- Alexander Balas, ruler of the Seleucid kingdom of Syria between 150 and 146 BC
- Alexander Severus, (208–235), Roman Empire
Middle Ages
- Alexander, Byzantine Emperor (912–913)
- Alexander I of Scotland (c. 1078–1124)
- Alexander II of Scotland (1198–1249)
- Alexander Nevsky (1220–1263), Grand Prince of Novgorod and Vladimir
- Alexander III of Scotland (1241–1286)
- Aleksander (1338-before 1386), prince of Podolia (son of Narymunt)
- Sikandar Butshikan, Sultan of Kashmir (1389–1413)
- Alexandru cel Bun, voivode of Moldavia (1400–1432)
- Skenderbeg (1405–1468), prince of Albania
- Alexandru I Aldea, ruler of the principality of Wallachia (1431–1436)
- Eskender, Emperor of Ethiopia (1472–1494)
- Alexander of Poland (1461-1506), king of Poland
- Alexandru Lăpuşneanu, voivode of Moldavia (1552–1561 and 1564–1568)
- Sikandar Shah Suri, Shah of Delhi (1555)
- Sikandar Lodhi, Sultan of Delhi (16th Century)
Modern
- Alexander I of Russia (1777–1825), emperor of Russia
- Sikandar Jah, Nizam of Hyderabad, (1803 to 1829)
- Alexander II of Russia (1818–1881), emperor of Russia
- Alexander III of Russia (1845–1894), emperor of Russia
- Alexander Karadjordjevic, Prince of Serbia (1842–1858)
- Alexander of Bulgaria (1857–1893), first prince of Bulgaria
- Alexander John Cuza, prince of Romania (1859–1866)
- Alexander Obrenovich (1876–1903), king of Serbia
- Alexander, Prince of Lippe (1831–1905), prince of Lippe
- Alexander of Yugoslavia (1888–1934), first king of Yugoslavia
- Zog I also known as Skenderbeg III, (1895–1961), king of Albanians
- Alexander of Greece (king) (1917–1920), king of Greece
- Leka, Crown Prince of Albania, (born 1939), king of Albanians (throne pretender)
- Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange
Religious leaders
- Pope Alexander I, (pope 97–105)
- Pope Alexander II, (pope 1058–1061)
- Pope Alexander III, (pope 1164–1168)
- Pope Alexander IV, (pope 1243–1254)
- Pope Alexander V, ("Peter Philarges" ca. 1339–1410)
- Pope Alexander VI, (1493–1503), Roman pope
- Pope Alexander VII, (1599–1667)
- Pope Alexander VIII, (pope 1689–1691),
- Alexander of Constantinople, bishop of Constantinople (314–337)
- St. Alexander of Alexandria, Coptic Pope, Patriarch of Alexandria between 313 and 328
- Pope Alexander II of Alexandria, Coptic Pope (702–729)
- Alexander of Lincoln, bishop of Lincoln
- Alexander Essebiensis aka Alexander of Ashby, 13th century prior and poet
- See also Saint Alexander, various saints with this name
Other people
- Alexander (general), son of Polyperchon, the regent of Macedonia
- Alexander of Aphrodisias, Greek commentator and philosopher
- Alexander of Greece (rhetorician)
- Alexander of Hales, 13th-century Medieval theologian
- Alexander, le Pargiter, 13th-century abbot
- Paris (mythology) aka Alexander, the Trojan prince who kidnapped Helen
People with the surname Alexander
- Caleb Alexander (d. 1828), clergyman, writer, teacher
- Christopher Alexander, architect
- Conel Hugh O'Donel Alexander (1909-1974), chess player
- Dari Alexander, American news anchor
- Douglas Alexander, British MP
- Edward Porter Alexander (1835–1910), officer in the U.S. Army and Confederate States Army
- F. Matthias Alexander, Australian actor/orator
- Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis (1891-1969), British Field Marshall in WWII
- Horace Alexander (1889-1989), English ornithologist
- Jason Alexander, stage name of American actor Jason Scott Greenspan
- Jason Allen Alexander, ex-husband of Britney Spears
- John White Alexander (1856–1915), American artist
- Lamar Alexander, U.S. Senator from Tennessee
- Manny Alexander, Major League Baseball infielder
- Monique Alexander, pornographic actress
- Peter Alexander, Austrian singer and actor
- Ross Alexander (1907–1937), American actor
- Samuel Alexander (1859–1938) philosopher and essayist
- Sarah Alexander, British actress
- Shaun Alexander, NFL running back
- Wilfred Backhouse Alexander (1885-1965), English ornithologist
Fictional
- Hamish Alexander, a character in David Weber's Honorverse
- Susan Alexander, the second wife of Charles Foster Kane in Citizen Kane
See also
References
This page lists people with the surname Alexander.
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.