Alexander
 Statue of Alexander III "The Great" of Macedon, the best-known bearer of the name, whose fame popularized the name's use throughout Europe and Asia | |
| Pronunciation | /ˈælɪɡˈzændər/ Ancient Greek: [aléksandros] Modern Greek: [aˈleksanðros] Czech: [ˈalɛksandr] German: [ˌalɛˈksandɐ] Polish: [alεˈksandεr] Russian: [ɐlʲɪkˈsandr] Serbo-Croatian: [aleksǎːndar, alěksaːn-] Swedish: [alɛkˈsǎnːdɛr] |
|---|---|
| Gender | Masculine, the feminine form being Alexandra |
| Name day | August 30 |
| Origin | |
| Word/name | Via Latin Alexander, originally from the Greek Ἀλέξανδρος (Aléxandros), from αλέξειν aléxein meaning "to ward off, keep off, turn away, defend, protect" and ἀνδρός andrós, genitive of ἀνήρ anḗr meaning "man". |
| Meaning | "Defender, protector of man" |
| Other names | |
| Related names | |
Alexander is a male given name. 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.[1]
Etymology[]
The name Alexander is derived from the Greek: Ἀλέξανδρος (Aléxandros; 'Defender of the people', 'Defending men',[2] or 'Protector of men'). It is a compound of the verb ἀλέξειν (aléxein; 'to ward off, avert, defend')[3] and the noun ἀνήρ (anḗr, genitive: ἀνδρός, andrós; meaning 'man').[4] It is an example of the widespread motif of Greek 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