Alexander

Alexander

Paris, depicted in this c. 1636 painting by Peter Paul Rubens making his famous judgment, was given the surname Alexander as a child when he routed a gang of cattle-thieves.
Pronunciation /ˈæləksˈændər/
Gender Masculine, the feminine variant being Alexandra.
Language(s) From the Latin Alexander, itself based upon the Greek Alexandros, from alexein meaning "to ward off, keep off, turn away, defend, protect" and aner meaning "man".
Origin
Meaning "Defender, protector of man".

Alexander ( /ˈæləksˈændər/) is a common male first name, and less common surname. The most famous is Alexander III of Macedon, commonly known as Alexander the Great, who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.

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Origin

Etymologically, the name is derived from the Greek "Αλέξανδρος" (Aléxandros), meaning "defending men" [1] or "protector of men", a compound of the verb "ἀλέξω" (alexō), "to ward off, to avert, to defend"[2] and the noun "ἀνδρός" (andros), genitive of "ἀνήρ" (anēr), "man".[3] It is an example of the widespread motif of Greek (or Indo-European more generally) names expressing "battle-prowess", in this case the ability to withstand or push back an enemy battle line.

The earliest attested form of the name is the Mycenaean Greek feminine noun a-re-ka-sa-da-ra, (transliterated as Alexandra), written in Linear B syllabic script.[4][5][6]

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 save warriors". In the Iliad, the character Paris is known also as Alexander.[7] The name's popularity was spread throughout the Greek world by the military conquests of King Alexander III, commonly known as "Alexander the Great". Most later Alexanders in various countries were directly or indirectly named for him.

People known as Alexander

Alexander has been the name of many rulers, including kings of Macedon, kings of Scotland, emperors of Russia and popes.

Rulers of antiquity

Rulers of the Middle Ages

Modern rulers

Other royals

Several other princes have borne the name Alexander:

Religious leaders

Other people

Other people using the name Alexander include:

Antiquity

Middle Ages

Modern

People with the given name Alexander

Internationally famous people with the given name Alexander or variants include:

Fictional people

People with the surname Alexander

Variants and diminutives

See also

References

  1. ^ ἀλέξανδρος, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library
  2. ^ ἀλέξω, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library
  3. ^ ἀνήρ, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library
  4. ^ a-re-ka-sa-da-ra (Alexandra) Palaeolexicon, Word study tool of ancient languages
  5. ^ Mycenaean (Linear B) – English Glossary
  6. ^ The Mycenaean World, John Chadwick, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1976, 1999
  7. ^ Ἀλέξανδρος, Georg Autenrieth, A Homeric Dictionary, on Perseus Digital Library
  8. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archer_Alexander
Slavic toponyms derived from or related to the name Alexander
Aleksandrów · Alexandriysky · Alexandrov · Alexandrovka · Alexandrovo (alt. Aleksandrovo) · Alexandrovsk · Alexandrovsky · Alexandro-Nevsky · Maloalexandrovka · Nikoloalexandrovka · Novoalexandrovka · Novoalexandrovo · Novoalexandrovsk · Novoalexandrovsky · Oleksandriya · Oleksandrivsk · Staroalexandrovka · Staroalexandrovsky