Alexander

This article is about the male first name. For other uses, see Alexander (disambiguation).
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 /ˈæləɡzˈændər/, /ˈæləɡzˈɑːndər/
Gender Masculine, the feminine form being Alexandra.
Origin
Word/name From the Latin Alexander, itself from the Greek Ἀλέξανδρος (Alexandros), from alexein meaning "to ward off, keep off, turn away, defend, protect" and andros, genitive of anēr meaning "man".
Meaning "Defender, protector of man".
Look up Alexander in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Alexander (/ˈæləɡzˈændər/, /ˈæləɡzˈɑːndər/) is a common male first name, and less common surname derived from the Greek "Αλέξανδρος" (Aléxandros). The most famous is Alexander the Great, who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.

Origin

Etymologically, the name is derived from the Greek Ἀλέξανδρος (Aléxandros), meaning "Defender of the people" or "Defending men"[1] and also, "Protector of men", a compound of the verb ἀλέξειν alexein, "to ward off, to avert, to defend"[2] and the noun ἀνήρ anēr, "man" (GEN ἀνδρός andros).[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 anthroponym 𐀀𐀩𐀏𐀭𐀅𐀨, a-re-ka-sa-da-ra, (transcribed as Alexandra), written in the 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, 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:

Variants and diminutives

See also

References

  1. ↑ Ἀλέξανδρος. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project.
  2. ↑ ἀλέξειν in Liddell and Scott.
  3. ↑ ἀνήρ in Liddell and Scott.
  4. ↑ Tablet MY V 659 (61). "The Linear B word a-re-ka-sa-da-ra". Palaeolexicon. Word study tool of ancient languages. "MY 659 V (61)". DĀMOS Database of Mycenaean at Oslo. University of Oslo. Raymoure, K.A. "a-re-ka-sa-da-ra-qe". Deaditerranean. Minoan Linear A & Mycenaean Linear B.
  5. ↑ Chadwick, John (1999) [1976]. The Mycenaean World. New York: Cambridge University Press.
  6. ↑ Mycenaean (Linear B) – English Glossary
  7. ↑ Ἀλέξανδρος, Georg Autenrieth, A Homeric Dictionary, on Perseus Digital Library