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* [[Prince Alexander John of Wales]] (1871), short-lived son of [[Edward VII of the United Kingdom|Edward VII]]
* [[Prince Alexander John of Wales]] (1871), short-lived son of [[Edward VII of the United Kingdom|Edward VII]]
* [[Alexander Freeman]] (1970), a former Liberian soccer player
* [[Alexander Freeman]] (1970), a former Liberian soccer player
* [[ Alexander Calvert]] (1730), Lord of All Mordor
A few other princes have borne the name '''Alexander''':
A few other princes have borne the name '''Alexander''':



Revision as of 12:52, 18 November 2008

Alexander
GenderMale
Origin
Word/nameGreek
MeaningProtector of man

Alexander is a common male first name.

Origin

The name in English is taken from the Greek name Ἀλέξανδρος (Alexandros). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb ἀλέξειν (alexein) "to defend" and the noun ἀνδρός (andros), genitive of ἀνήρ (anēr) "man". Thus it may be roughly translated as "protector of man".[1][2][3]

The earliest attested record of the name is the Mycenaean Greek of the feminine Alexandra, written in Linear B.[4][5]

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 Greek world by the military conquests of King Alexander III of Macedonia, commonly known as "Alexander the Great". Most later Alexanders in various countries were directly or indirectly named for him.

In Russia, the name was uncommon until the time of Tsar Alexander I, due to whom it became one of the most common of Russian first names and gained a considerable number of Russian variations and abbreviations (see below).

Alexander is also regarded by some as the "Genghis Khan of the west":

Variants and diminutives

  • Albanian – Aleksandër, Aleks, Lekë
  • Amharic – Eskender
  • Arabic – الاسكندر / اسكندر (Iskandar), Skandar, Skender
  • Belarusian – Аляксандp (Aliaksandr), Алeсь (Aleś)
  • Bulgarian - Александър (Aleksandar), Сашо (Sasho), Aлекс (Aleks)
  • Catalan – Alexandre, Àlex, Xandre
  • Corsican - Lisandru
  • Czech - Alexandr
  • Dutch - Alexander, Sander
  • English – Alexander, Alec, Alex, Lex, Sandy, Andy, Alexis, Alexa, Alexandria, Alexandra, Sandra, Al, Sasha, Ali, Lexxi, Zander, Xander, Sashi, Eck
  • French - Alexandre, Alexis, Alex
  • Finnish - Aleksanteri, Santeri, Santtu
  • Galician – Alexandre, Álex
  • Georgian/ქართულად – ალექსანდრე (Alexandre), ალეკო (Aleko), ლექსო (Lekso), სანდრო (Sandro)
  • Greek - Αλέξανδρος
  • Hebrew – אלכסנדר (Alexander), אלכס (Alex)
  • HindiHindustaniSikandar
  • Hungarian – Sándor
  • Irish (Gaeilge) – Alasandar
  • Italian – Alessandro, Ale, Sandro, Alessio
  • Kurdish - Askander, Eskander
  • Kyrgyz – Искендер (İskender)
  • Macedonian - Александар (Aleksandar), Алек (Alek), Ацо (Aco), Аце (Ace), Сашо (Sasho),
  • Malay – Iskandar
  • Malayalam – ചാണ്ടി (Chandy)
  • Maltese – Lixandru
  • Norwegian – Aleksander
  • Persian – اسكندر (Eskandar)
  • Polish - Aleksander, Alek, Olek, Aleks
  • Portuguese – Alexandre, Alexandra (feminine), Alexandro (rare), Xana (feminine), Alex, Xande, Sandro, Sandra (feminine), Sandrina (feminine), Alessandro, Alessandra (feminine)
  • Romanian — Alexandru, Alexandra (feminine), Alex, Sandu, Sanda (feminine), Sandra (feminine)
  • Russian — Александр (Aleksandr), Саша (Sasha), Шура (Shura), Саня (Sanya), Шурик (Shurik), Сашок (Sashok), Алик (Alik)
  • Sanskrit language – Alekchendra
  • Scots Gaelic – Alasdair, Alastair, Alistair, Alisdair
  • Slovenian - Aleksander, Aleks, Sandi, Sašo
  • Serbian - Александар (Aleksandar), Алекса (Aleksa), Алекс (Aleks), Саша (Sasa), Сале (Sale)
  • Spanish - Alejandro, Alejo, Alex, Jandro, Jano
  • Tamil language – Aleksandar
  • Turkish – İskender
  • Ukrainian — Олександр (Olexandr), Сашко (Sashko)
  • UrduHindustaniSikandar
  • UrduPakistaniSikander ("Sikander-e-Azam" is "Alexander the Great")
  • Uzbek – Iskandar
  • Yiddish – סענדער – Sender, Senderl

Alexander as a given name

Monarchs

Antiquity

Middle Ages

Modern

Religious leaders

Other people

A few other princes have borne the name Alexander:

Alexander as a surname

Fictional people with the name Alexander

See also

References