Alexander Totally Explained

Everything about Alisdair totally explained

Alexander is a common male first name. It also occurs as a surname.

Origin

The name in English is taken from the Latin "Alexander", which is a romanization of the Greek name Αλέξανδρος (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". 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 Greek of the feminine Alexandra, written in Linear B (The Mycenaean World, by John Chadwick, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1976, 1999).
   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 following).

Variants and diminutives

Albanian – Aleksandër, Aleks, Sandër, Skëndër, Skender
Amharic – Eskender
Arabic – الاسكندر / اسكندر (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, Wander, Aleksander
English – Alexander, Alec, Alex, Lex, Sandy, Andy, Alexis, Alexa, Alexandria, Alexandra, Sandra, Al, Sasha, Ali, Lexxi, Zander, Xander, Sashi, Eck
Estonian – Aleksander, Sander, Sass, Alexander (rare)
Finnish – Aleksanteri, Aleksi, Santeri
French – Alexandre, Alexis, Alex
Galician – Alexandre, Álex
Georgian/ქართულად – ალექსანდრე (Alexandre), ალეკო (Aleko), ლექსო (Lekso), სანდრო (Sandro)
German – Alexander (short: Alex, Ali, Akki)
Greek – Αλέξανδρος (Alexandros), Αλέξης/Αλεξία (Alexis/Alexia), Αλέκος/Αλέκα (Alekos/Aleka), Άκης (Akis)
Hebrew – אלכסנדר (Alexander)
Hindi – Hindustani – Sikandar
Hungarian – Sándor
Icelandic – Alexander
Irish (Gaeilge) – Alasandar
Italian – Alessandro, Leandro, Ale, Sandro, Alessio
Kazakh – Ескендiр (Yeskendir)
Kyrgyz – Искендер (İskender)
Lithuanian – Aleksandras
Macedonian – Александар (Aleksandar), Алек (Alek), Аце (Atse), Ацо (Atso), Ацко (Atsko), Сашо (Sasho)
Malay – Iskandar
Malayalam – ചാണ്ടി (Chandy)
Maltese – Lixandru
Norwegian – Alexander, Aleksander, Sander
Persian – اسكندر (Eskandar)
Polish – Aleksander, Alek, Olek, Aleks, Aleksandra, Ola
Portuguese – Alexandre, Alexandro (rare), Alexandra, Xana (feminine), Xano, Alex, Xande, Xanocas
Romanian – Alexandru, Alec, Alex, Alle, Alecu, Sandu, Lixandru
Russian – Александp (Aleksandr), Алик (Alik), Саша (Sasha), Саня (Sanya), Санёк (Sanyok), Шура (Shura), Шурик (Shurik)
Sanskrit language – Alekchendra
Scots Gaelic – Alasdair, Alastair, Alistair, Alisdair
Serbian – Александар, Аца, Саша, Алексa – Aleksandar, Aca, Saša, Aleksa
Slovenian – Aleš, Sandi, Sanja, Sandra, Saša, Sašo
Spanish – Alejandro, Alexander, Alexis, Alex, Ale, Alejo, Jandro
Swedish – Alexander
Turkish – İskender
Ukrainian – Олександр (Oleksandr), Сашко (Sashko), Олелько (Olelko, rare), Олесь(Oles), Лесь(Les)
Urdu – Hindustani – Sikandar
Urdu – Pakistani – Sikander ("Sikander-e-Azam" is "Alexander the Great")
Uzbek – Iskandar
Yiddish – סענדער – Sender, Senderl

Alexander as a given name

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, (1803–1829)

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 Obrenovic (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

Alexander (count of Bergstien, Norway)

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 Beyer (* 1973), German actor

Claude Alexander Conlin (1880–1954), stage magician

Alexander of Aphrodisias, Greek commentator and philosopher

Alexander of Greece (rhetorician)

Alexander of Hales, 13th-century Medieval theologian

Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), a German natural scientist

Alexander, le Pargiter, 13th-century abbot

Alexander Pushkin (1799–1837), Russian author (Germanized form of name)

Paris (mythology) aka Alexander, the Trojan prince who kidnapped Helen

Alexandre, Chevalier de Vendôme (1598–1629), illegitiate child of Henry IV of France

Prince Alexander John of Wales (1871), short-lived son of Edward VII A few other princes have borne the name Alexander:

George V of Hanover (1819–1878)

Prince Alfred of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1874–1899)

Alexander Graham Bell (1847–1922)

Prince George, Duke of Kent (1902–1942)

Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester (1944–)

People with the surname Alexander

AJ Alexander (born 1980), American model and Playboy Playmate

Barton S. Alexander (1819–1878), U.S. Army brigadier general and engineer during the American Civil War

Caleb Alexander (d. 1828), American clergyman, writer, teacher

Christopher Alexander (born 1936), Austrian architect

Conel Hugh O'Donel Alexander (1909–1974), British cryptanalyst, chess player, and chess writer

Dari Alexander, American news anchor

Douglas Alexander (born 1967), British MP

Edward Porter Alexander (1835–1910), officer in the U.S. Army and Confederate States Army

Ernie Alexander (born 1933), former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from Lafayette

Evan Shelby Alexander (1767–1809), American politician

F. Matthias Alexander (1869–1955), Australian actor/orator

Grover Cleveland Alexander (1887-1950), Major League Baseball player

Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis (1891–1969), British Field Marshall in WWII

Horace Alexander (1889–1989), English ornithologist

James Waddell Alexander II (1888–1971), mathematician

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 (born 1940), U.S. Senator from Tennessee

Lincoln Alexander (born 1922), Canada's first black Member of Parliament and former Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario

Manny Alexander (born 1971), baseball player from the Dominican Republic

Monique Alexander (born 1982), American porn star

Neil Alexander (born 1978), Scottish footballer

Peter Alexander (born 1926), Austrian singer and actor

Ross Alexander (1907–1937), American actor

Samuel Alexander (1859–1938) Australian/British philosopher and essayist

Sarah Alexander (born 1971), British actress

Shaun Alexander (born 1977), American football player

Wilfred Backhouse Alexander (1885–1965), English ornithologist

William Alexander (bishop) (1824–1911), Primate of All Ireland

Fictional

Hamish Alexander, a character in David Weber's Honorverse

Alexander (Summons), a summoned avatar from the Final Fantasy series of games. He is one of the terrestrial avatars in Final Fantasy XI

Lyta Alexander, a Telepath in the Science fiction TV-series Babylon 5

Alexander Anderson, a regenerative warrior-priest from the Hellsing series.Further Information

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