Alexander (/ˈæləɡzˈændər/, /ˈæləɡzˈɑːndər/) is a 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.

Etymology

The name Alexander 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.^{[citation needed]}

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 after him.^{[citation needed]}

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

• Alexander (Alexandros of Ilion), more often known as Paris of Troy
• Alexander of Corinth, 10th king of Corinth (816–791 BC)
• Alexander I of Macedon
• Alexander II of Macedon
• Alexander III of Macedon, commonly known as Alexander the Great
• Alexander IV of Macedon
• Alexander V 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, viceroy of Antigonus Gonatas and ruler of a rump state based on Corinth c. 250 BC
• Alexander Balas, ruler of the Seleucid kingdom of Syria between 150 and 146 BC
• Alexander Zabinas, ruler of part of the Seleucid kingdom of Syria based in Antioch between 128 and 123 BC
• Alexander Jannaeus king of Judea, 103-76 BC
• Alexander of Judaea, son of Aristobulus II, king of Judaea
• Alexander Severus (208–235), Roman emperor
• Julius Alexander, lived in the 2nd century, an Emesene nobleman
• Domitius Alexander, Roman usurper who declared himself emperor in 308

Rulers of the Middle Ages

• Alexander, Byzantine Emperor (912–913)
• Alexander I of Scotland (c. 1078–1124)
• Alexander II of Scotland (1198–1249)
• Alexander Nevsky (1220–1263), Prince of Novgorod and Grand Prince of Vladimir
• Alexander III of Scotland (1241–1286)
• Alexander I of Georgia (1412–1442)
• Alexander II of Georgia (1483-1510)
• Aleksander (1338–before 1386), Prince of Podolia (son of Narymunt)
• Alexandru I Aldea, ruler of the principality of Wallachia (1431–1436)
• Eskender, Emperor of Ethiopia (1472–1494)
• Alexander Jagiellon (Alexander of Poland) (1461–1506), King of Poland
• Alexandru Lăpuşneanu, Voivode of Moldavia (1552–1561 and 1564–1568)

Modern rulers

• Alexander I of Russia (1777–1825), emperor of Russia
• Alexander II of Russia (1818–1881), emperor of Russia
• Alexander III of Russia (1845–1894), emperor of Russia
• Alexander Karađorđević, Prince of Serbia (1842–1858)
• Alexander of Bulgaria (1857–1893), first prince of Bulgaria
• Alexandru Ioan Cuza, prince of Romania (1859–1866)
• Alexander I Obrenović of Serbia (1876–1903), king of Serbia
• Alexander, Prince of Lippe (1831–1905), prince of Lippe
• Alexander I of Yugoslavia (1888–1934), first king of Yugoslavia
• Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia (born 1945), head of the Yugoslav Royal Family
• Zog I, also known as Skenderbeg III (1895–1961), king of Albanians
• Alexander of Greece (1893–1920), king of Greece
• Leka, Crown Prince of Albania (1939-2011), king of Albanians (throne pretender)
• Willem-Alexander, King of the Netherlands (born 1967), eldest child of Queen Beatrix and Prince Claus

Other royalty

• Alexander, Judean Prince, one of the sons of Herod the Great from his wife Mariamne
• Alexander, Judean Prince, son to the above Alexander and Cappadocian Princess Glaphyra
• Alexander (d. 1418), son of Bulgarian tsar Ivan Shishman
• Prince Alexander John of Wales (1871), short-lived son of Edward VII
• Prince Alexandre of Belgium (1942–2009)
• Prince Alexander of Sweden (b. 2016), son of Prince Carl Philip

Several other princes have borne the name Alexander:

• George V of Hanover (1819–1878)
• Prince Alfred of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1874–1899)
• Prince George, Duke of Kent (1902–1942)
• Olav V of Norway (1903–1991)
• Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester (born 1944)
• Prince George of Cambridge (born 2013)

Religious leaders

• Pope Alexander I (pope 97–105)
• Alexander of Apamea, 5th-century bishop of Apamea
• Pope Alexander II (pope 1058–1061)
• Pope Alexander III (pope 1164–1168)
• Pope Alexander IV (pope 1243–1254)
• Pope Alexander V ("Peter Philarges" c. 1339–1410)
• Pope Alexander VI (1492–1503), 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 of Jerusalem
• See also Saint Alexander, various saints with this name

Other people

Other people using the name Alexander include:

Antiquity

• Alexander, the name of a number of artists of ancient Greece and Rome
• Alexander, 3rd-century BC general, commanded the cavalry under Antigonus III Doson
• Alexander of Athens, Athenian comic poet
• Alexander Lyncestes, contemporary of Alexander the Great
• Alexander Aetolus, poet and member of the Alexandrian Pleiad
• Alexander, son of Lysimachus, 3rd-century BC Macedonian royal
• Alexander, Aetolian general, briefly conquered Aegira in 220 BC
• Alexander, son of Polyperchon, the regent of Macedonia
• Alexander Isius, 2nd-century military commander of the Aetolians
• Alexander of Acarnania (d. 191 BC), confidante of Antiochus III the Great
• Alexander Lychnus, early 1st-century BC poet and historian
• Alexander Polyhistor, Greek scholar of the 1st century
• Alexander of Myndus, ancient Greek writer on zoology and divination
• Alexander of Aegae, peripatetic philosopher of the 1st century
• Alexander of Cotiaeum, 2nd-century Greek grammarian and tutor of Marcus Aurelius
• Alexander Numenius, or Alexander, son of Numenius, 2nd century AD, Greek rhetorician
• Alexander the Paphlagonian, 2nd-century Greek imposter
• Alexander Peloplaton, Greek rhetorician of the 2nd century
• Alexander of Lycopolis, 4th-century author of an early Christian treatise against Manicheans
• Alexander of Aphrodisias, Greek commentator and philosopher
• Alexander, a member of the Jerusalem Temple Sanhedrin mentioned in Acts 4:6

Middle Ages

• Alexander of Hales, 13th-century Medieval theologian

Modern

• Alexander (1880–1954), stage magician specializing in mentalism
• Jeffrey C. Alexander (b. 1947), American sociologist
• Alexander McQueen (1969-2010), British fashion designer and couturier
• Olivinha (b. 1983), Brazilian basketball player also known as Alexandre
• Alex Rodriguez (b. 1975), Major League Baseball star, won 3 AL MVP awards, also known as A-Rod
• Alexander Van der Bellen (b. 1944), President of Austria

Given name

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

• Alexander Argov (1914–95), Russian-born Israeli composer
• Aleksandr Averbukh (born 1974), Israeli European champion pole vaulter
• Alec Baldwin (born 1958), American actor
• Alexander Graham Bell (1847–1922), Scottish inventor of the first practical telephone
• Alexandre Grothendieck (1928-2014), Important European mathematician of the 20th century.
• Alexander Davidovich (born 1967), Israeli Olympic wrestler
• Alexander Day, British 18th-century confidence trickster
• Aleksandar Djordjevic (born 1967), Serbian basketball player
• Alexander Dubček (1921–1992), leader of Czechoslovakia (1968–1969)
• Alexandre Dumas (1802–1870), French writer
• Alexander Lee Eusebio (born 1988), also known as Alexander or Xander, South Korean solo singer, ex-member of South Korean band U-KISS
• Alex Ferguson (born 1941), ex-manager of Manchester United FC
• Alexander Fleming (1881–1955), Scottish discoverer of penicillin
• Alexander Zusia Friedman (1897-1943), Polish rabbi, educator, activist, and journalist
• Alexander Gomelsky (1928–2005), Russian head coach of USSR basketball national team for 30 years
• Aleksandr Gorelik (born 1945), Soviet figure skater
• Alexander Gould (born 1994), American actor
• Alexander Gustafsson (born 1987), Swedish mixed martial arts fighter
• Alexander Haig (1924–2010), United States general and politician
• Alexander Hamilton (1755–1804), a Founding Father of the United States
• Alex Higgins (1949-2010), Northern Irish former snooker world champion
• Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), Prussian naturalist and explorer
• Alexander Korda (1893–1956), Hungarian film director
• Alexander Levinsky (1910–90), Canadian NHL ice hockey player
• Alexander Ivanovich Levitov (1835–1877), Russian writer
• Alexander Lévy (born 1990), French golfer
• Alexandre Lippmann (1881–1960), French two-time Olympic champion épée fencer
• Alexander Ludwig, Canadian actor
• Alexander "Sandy" Lyle (born 1958), Scottish golfer
• Alexander Lukashenko (born 1954), President of Belarus
• Alex Manninger, Austrian footballer
• Alessandro Manzoni (1785–1873), Italian poet and novelist
• Alexander "Ali" Marpet (born 1993), American football player in the NFL
• Alexander McQueen (1969–2010), British fashion designer
• Alessandro Moreschi (1858-1922), Italian castrato singer
• Alexander Nikolov (born 1940), bronze medalist at 1964 Olympics (boxing)
• Alexander O'Neal (born 1953), American singer
• Alexander Ovechkin (born 1985), Russian hockey player for the Washington Capitals
• Alexander Pechtold (born 1965), Dutch politician
• Alexander Penn (1906–72), Israeli poet
• Alexander Pope (1688–1744), English poet
• Alexander Popov (born 1971) Russian swimmer
• Alexander Ptushko (1900–1973), Russian film director
• Alexander Pushkin (1799–1837), Russian writer
• Alexander Rou (1906–1973), Russian film director
• Alexander Rowe (born 1992), Australian athlete
• Alexander Rudolph ("Al McCoy"; 1894–1966), American world champion middleweight boxer
• Alexander Rybak, Norwegian artist and violinist
• Alexander Salkind (1921–1997), French film producer
• Alexander Semin (born 1984), Russian hockey player for the Carolina Hurricanes
• Alexander Shatilov (born 1987), Uzbek-Israeli artistic gymnast
• Alexander Skarsgård, Swedish actor
• Alexander McCall Smith (born 1948), Scottish writer
• Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918–2008), Russian writer, Nobel laureate, Soviet dissident
• Lex van Dam (born 1968), Dutch trader and TV personality
• Aleksander Veingold (born 1953), Estonian and Soviet chess player and coach
• Alessandro Volta (1745–1827), Italian physicist
• Alexander Yusuf, Somali-British architect
• Alex Zanardi (born 1966), Italian racing driver and paracyclist

See also

• Alex (disambiguation)
• Justice Alexander (disambiguation)
• All pages beginning with "Alexander"
• Hera Alexandros, epithet of the Greek goddess Hera