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Alexander

Name list

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
13 min read
Source updated September 13, 2026
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Alexander (Greek: Ἀλέξανδρος) is a masculine name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.

Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Aleksander, Oleksandr, Oleksander, Aleksandr, and Alekzandr. Related names and diminutives include Iskandar, Alec, Alek, Alekos, Alex, Alexsander, Alexandre, Aleks, Aleksa, Aleksandre, Alejandro, Alessandro, Alasdair, Sasha, Sandy, Sandro, Sikandar, Skander, Sander and Xander; feminine forms include Alexandra, Alexandria, and Sasha.

01Etymology

The name Alexander originates from the Ancient Greek: Ἀλέξανδρος (Aléxandros; 'defending men' or 'protector of men'). It is a compound of the verb ἀλέξειν (aléxein; 'to ward off, avert, defend') and the noun ἀνήρ (anḗr, genitive: ἀνδρός, andrós; meaning 'man').

The earliest attested form of the name, is the Mycenaean Greek feminine anthroponym 𐀀𐀩𐀏𐀭𐀅𐀨, a-re-ka-sa-da-ra, (/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 Iliad, the character Paris is also known as Alexander. The name's popularity was spread throughout the Greek world by the military conquests of Alexander the Great. Most later Alexanders in various countries were directly or indirectly named after him.

Rulers of antiquity

Rulers of the Middle Ages

Modern rulers

Other royalty

Religious leaders

Other people

Antiquity

Middle Ages

Modern

02People with the given name

People with the given name Alexander or variants include:

03In other languages

04Variants and diminutives

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Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Alexander”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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Related topics

Alex (disambiguation)

Alex is a unisex given name.

Alexander (surname)

Alexander is a surname. One origin is from the Greek Ἀλέξανδρος meaning 'defender of men'.

Alexandra

Alexandra is a female given name of Greek origin. It is the first attested form of its variants, including Alexander (Ancient Greek: Ἀλέξανδρος, Aléxandros).