Alter is both a surname and a given name. German and Jewish ( Ashkenazic): distinguishing epithet for the older of two bearers of the same personal name. For the Ashkenazim: from the

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

personal name Alter, an inflected form of (‘old’). This was in part an omen name, expressing the parents’ hope that the child would live a long life; in part an apotropaic name, given to a child born after the death of a sibling, but also said to have sometimes been assumed by someone who was seriously ill. The purpose is supposed to have been to confuse the Angel of Death into thinking that the person was old and thus not worth claiming as a victim. Notable people with the name include:

Surname

* Avraham Mordechai Alter (1866–1948), Hasidic rabbi * David Alter (1807–1881), American inventor * Dinsmore Alter (1888–1968), American astronomer and meteorologist * Gary Alter, American plastic surgeon * Harvey Alter, American virologist * Hobart Alter (1933–2014), American businessman * Israel Alter (also: Yisraʾel Alter, 1901–1979), Jewish composer and last chief cantor in Hanover, Germany * Jonathan Alter, American journalist * Karl Joseph Alter, American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church * Louis Alter, American composer * Michael Alter, American businessman * Moshe Jacob Alter, Yiddish poet *

Pinchas Menachem Alter Pinchas Menachem Alter (; July 3, 1926 – March 7, 1996), also known as the ''Pnei Menachem'' (), after the works he authored, was the seventh rebbe of the Hasidic Judaism, Hasidic dynasty of Ger (Hasidic dynasty), Ger, a position he held from ...

, Hassidic rabbi *

Robert Alter Robert Bernard Alter (born 1935) is an American professor emeritus of Hebrew language, Hebrew and comparative literature at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught since 1967. He has published two dozen books, including an aw ...

, Biblical scholar * Stephen Alter, American author * Simchah Bunim Alter, Hassidic rabbi *

Tom Alter Thomas Beach Alter (22 June 1950 – 29 September 2017) was an Indian actor. He was best known for his works in Hindi cinema, and Indian theatre. In 2008, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. Early life Born in Mussoorie ...

, Indian actor * Yaakov Aryeh Alter, Hassidic rabbi * Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter, Hassidic rabbi * Yisrael Alter, Hassidic rabbi * Yitzchak Meir Alter (c. 1798 – 1866), Hassidic rabbi

Given name

* Alter Kacyzne (1885–1941), Yiddish writer * Alter Levin (1883–1933), Hebrew writer and poet * Alter Tepliker (died 1919), Breslover Hasid and author * Alter Tsypkin (1891–1985), Soviet legal scholar

Surname

Given name

See also