Etymology
The name ''Alexander'' originates from the (; 'defending men' or 'protector of men'). It is a compound of the verb (; 'to ward off, avert, defend') and the noun (, genitive: , ; meaning 'man'). The earliest attested form of the name, is the Mycenaean Greek feminine anthroponym , , (/ Alexandra/), written in the Linear B syllabic script. Alaksandu, alternatively called ''Alakasandu'' or ''Alaksandus'', was a king of Wilusa who sealed a treaty with the Hittite king Muwatalli II c. 1280 BC; this is generally assumed to have been a Greek called Alexandros. The name was one of the epithets given to the Greek goddess Hera and as such is usually taken to mean "one who comes to save warriors". In the ''People known as Alexander
Alexander has been the name of many rulers, including kings of Macedon, ofRulers of antiquity
* Alexander (''Alexandros of Ilion''), more often known as Paris of Troy * Alexander I of Macedon * Alexander II of Macedon * 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 of Corinth, viceroy of Antigonus Gonatas and ruler of a rump state based on Corinth c. 250 BC * Alexander (satrap) (died 220 BC), satrap of Persis under Seleucid king Antiochus III * 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 308Rulers 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) * Nicholas Alexander of Wallachia, Voivode of Wallachia (died 1364) * Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria, tsar of Bulgaria (beginnings of the 14th century – 1371) * Aleksandr Mikhailovich of Tver, Prince of Tver as Alexander I and Grand Prince of Vladimir-Suzdal as Alexander II (1301–1339) * Aleksander (1338–before 1386), Prince of Podolia (son of Narymunt) * Alexander II of Georgia (1483–1510) * Eskender, Emperor ofModern 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 modern Bulgaria * 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 ClausOther royalty
* Alexander, Judean Prince, one of the sons of Herod the Great from his wife Mariamne * Alexander Helios, Ptolemaic prince, one of the sons of Cleopatra and Mark Anthony * 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 Alfred of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1874–1899) * Olav V of Norway (Prince Alexander of Denmark) (1903–1991)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 1159–1181) * 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 nameOther people
Antiquity
* Alexander (artists), the name of a number of artists of ancient Greece and Rome * Alexander of Lyncestis (died 330 BC), contemporary of Alexander the Great * Alexander (son of Polyperchon) (died 314 BC), regent of Macedonia * Alexander (Antigonid general), 3rd-century BC cavalry commander under Antigonus III Doson * Alexander of Athens, 3rd-century BC Athenian comic poet * Alexander Aetolus (), poet and member of the Alexandrian Pleiad * Alexander (son of Lysimachus) (), Macedonian royal * Alexander (grandson of Seleucus I Nicator) (), Greek Anatolian nobleman * Alexander (Aetolian general), briefly conquered Aegira in 220 BC * Alexander of Acarnania (died 191 BC), confidant of Antiochus III the Great * Alexander Isius (), Aetolian military commander * Alexander Lychnus, early 1st-century BC poet and historian * Alexander Philalethes, 1st century BC physician * Alexander Polyhistor, Greek scholar of the 1st century BC * Alexander of Myndus, ancient Greek writer on zoology and divination * Alexander of Aegae, peripatetic philosopher of the 1st century AD * Alexander of Cotiaeum, 2nd-century Greek grammarian and tutor of Marcus Aurelius * Alexander Numenius, 2nd-century Greek rhetorician * Alexander Peloplaton, 2nd-century Greek rhetorician * Alexander of Abonoteichus (), Greek religious leader and imposter * Alexander of Aphrodisias (), Greek commentator and philosopher * Alexander of Lycopolis, 4th-century author of an early Christian treatise against Manicheans * Alexander, a member of the Jerusalem Temple Sanhedrin mentioned in Acts 4:6Middle Ages
* Alexander of Hales, English theologian in the 13th centuryModern
* Alexander (magician) (1880–1954), American stage magician specializing in mentalismPeople with the given name
People with the given name Alexander or variants include: * Technoblade (1999–2022), American YouTuber, real name Alexander, surname not made public * Alexander Aigner (1909–1988), Austrian mathematician * Aleksandr Akimov (1953–1986), Russian nuclear engineer who died in Chernobyl * Alexander Albon (born 1996), Thai-British racing driver * Aleksander Allila (1890–?), Finnish politician * Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov (1883–1946), Russian composer * Alexander Argov (1914–1995), Russian-born Israeli composer * Alexander Armah (born 1994), American football player * Alexander Armstrong (born 1970), British comedian and singer * Aleksandr Averbukh (born 1974), Israeli pole vaulter * Alex Baldock (born 1970), British businessman * Alec Baldwin (born Alexander Rae Baldwin III, 1958), American actor * Aleksander Barkov (born 1995), Finnish ice hockey player * Alexander G. Bassuk, American pediatric neurologist * Alexander Graham Bell (1847–1922), Scottish inventor of the first practical telephone * Alexander Björk (born 1990), Swedish golfer * Alexander Borodin (1833–1887), Russian composer * Alexander Calder (1898–1976), American sculptor best known for making mobiles * Aleksandr Davidovich (disambiguation), several people * Alexander Davidson (disambiguation), several people * Alexander Day (disambiguation), several people * Alexander Nicholas de Abrew Abeysinghe (1894–1963), Sri Lankan Sinhala politician * Alex DeBrincat (born 1997), American ice hockey player * Alexander Davidovich Dilman (born 1976), Russian organic chemist * Aleksandar Djordjevic (born 1967), Serbian basketball player * Alexander Dubček (1921–1992), leader of Czechoslovakia (1968–1969) * Alex Ebert (born 1978), American singer-songwriter * Alexander Lee (born 1988), also known as Alexander or Xander, South Korean singer, member of U-KISS * Alexander Exarch (1810–1891), Bulgarian revivalist, publicist and journalist, participant in the struggle for an independent Bulgarian Exarchate * Alex Ferguson (born 1941), Scottish football player and manager * Alexander Fleming (1881–1955), Scottish discoverer of penicillin * Alexander Zusia Friedman (1897–1943), Polish rabbi, educator, activist, and journalist * Aleksander Gabelic (born 1965), Swedish politician * Alex Galchenyuk (born 1994), American ice hockey player * Alexander Gardner (disambiguation), multiple people * Alexander Glazunov (1865–1936), Russian composer * Alexander Goldberg (born 1974), British rabbi, barrister, and human rights activist * Alexander Goldberg (chemical engineer), Israeli chemical engineer and President of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology * Alexander Goldscheider (born 1950), Czech/British composer, producer and writer * Alexander Gomelsky (1928–2005), Russian head coach of USSR basketball national team for 30 years * Alexander Gordon (disambiguation), several people * Aleksandr Gordon (1931–2020), Russian-Soviet director, screenwriter and actor * Aleksandr Gorelik (1945–2012), Soviet figure skater * Alexander Gould (born 1994), American actor * Alexander Grothendieck (1928–2014), German-born French mathematician * Alexander Gustafsson (born 1987), Swedish mixed martial arts fighter * Alexander Haig (1924–2010), American general and politician * Alexander Hamilton (1755–1804), first United States Secretary of the Treasury and one of the founding fathers of the United States * Alexander Hamilton Jr. (1786–1875), American attorney and son of Alexander Hamilton * Alexander Hamilton Jr. (1816–1889), son of James Alexander Hamilton and grandson of Alexander Hamilton * Alexander Haugg (born 1968), German actor * Alexander Held (born 1958), German actor * Alexander Henn, German anthropologist * Alexander Henry (1823–1883), mayor of Philadelphia * Alex Higgins (1949–2010), Northern Irish snooker player * Alexander Hollins (born 1996), American football player * Alexander Holtz (born 2002), Swedish ice hockey player * Alex Horne (born 1978), British comedian * Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859), Prussian naturalist and explorer * Alexander Ilečko (1937–2023), Slovak sculptor * Alexander Isak (born 1999), Swedish Football Player * Alexander Isakov (1730–1794), Russian major general * Alex Israel (born 1982), American artist * Alex Israel, founder of Metropolis Technologies * Alex Jones (born 1974), American radio show host and conspiracy theorist * Aleksandr Kamshalov (1932–2019), Soviet politician * Alex Kapranos (born 1972), Scottish musician, author, songwriter and producer, front-man of Franz Ferdinand * Aleksandar Katai (born 1991), Serbian footballer * Alexander Kerensky (1881–1970) leader of Russian Provisional Government * Alexander Kerfoot (born 1994), Canadian ice hockey player * Alex Killorn (born 1989), Canadian ice hockey player * Alexander Klaws (born 1983), German singer and songwriter * Alexander Klingspor (born 1977), Swedish painter and sculptor * Aleksandr Kogan (born 1985/86), Moldovan-born American psychologist and data scientist * Alexander Korda (1893–1956), Hungarian film director * Alexander Kucheryavenko (born 1987), Russian ice hockey player * Aleksander Kwaśniewski (born 1954), former President of Poland * Aleksander Lesser (1814–1884), Polish painter, illustrator, and art critic * Alexander Levinsky (1910–1990), Canadian ice hockey player * Alexander Ivanovich Levitov (1835–1877), Russian writer * Alexander Lévy (born 1990), French golfer * Alexander Ludwig (born 1992), Canadian actor * Alexander "Sandy" Lyle (born 1958), Scottish golfer * Alexander Lukashenko (born 1954), President of Belarus * Alex Manninger (born 1977), Austrian footballer * Alexander "Ali" Marpet (born 1993), American football player * Aleksandr Marshal (born 1957), Russian singer, songwriter, and musician * Alexander Mattison (born 1998), American football player * Alexander McClure (1828–1909), American politician, editor and writer * Alexander Lyell McEwin (1897–1988), known as Lyell McEwin, Australian politician, Minister for Health * Alexander McQueen (1969–2010), British fashion designer and couturier * Alexander Michel Melki (born 1992), Swedish-Lebanese footballer * Alexander Mirsky (born 1964), Latvian politician * Alexander Francis Molamure (1888–1951), 1st Speaker of the State Council of Ceylon and 1st Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka * Aleksandr Nikolayev (disambiguation), several people * Alexander Nikolov (boxer) (born 1940), Bulgarian boxer * Alex Norén (born 1982), Swedish golfer * Alexander Nylander (born 1998), Swedish ice hockey player * Alexander O'Neal (born 1953), American singer * Alexander Ovechkin (born 1985), Russian hockey player * Alexander Patch (1889–1945), American general duringIn other languages
* Afrikaans: Alexander * Albanian: Aleksandër ** Albanian diminutive: Leka * Amharic: እስክንድር (Isikinidiri, Eskender) *Variants and diminutives
* Alex * Alexsander * Alexey * Sasha/Sash * Sandy * XanderSee also
* Alex (disambiguation) * Alexander (surname) * Alexandra * Hera Alexandros, epithet of the Greek goddess Hera * Justice Alexander (disambiguation) *References
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