Gender Masculine
Scripts Ἀλέξανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced Pron. al-ig-ZAN-dər(English) a-leh-KSAN-du(German) a-lehk-SAHN-dər(Dutch) a-lehk-SAN-dehr(Swedish, Latin) A-lehk-san-tehr(Icelandic) AW-lehk-sawn-dehr(Hungarian) A-lehk-san-dehr(Slovak)  [key·IPA]

Meaning & History

Latinized form of the Greek name Ἀλέξανδρος (Alexandros), which meant "defending men" from Greek ἀλέξω (alexo) meaning "to defend, help" and ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός). In Greek mythology this was another name of the hero Paris, and it also belongs to several characters in the New Testament. However, the most famous bearer was Alexander the Great, king of Macedon. In the 4th century BC he built a huge empire out of Greece, Egypt, Persia, and parts of India. Due to his fame, and later medieval tales involving him, use of his name spread throughout Europe.

The name has been used by kings of Scotland, Poland and Yugoslavia, emperors of Russia, and eight popes. Other notable bearers include English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744), American statesman Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), Scottish-Canadian explorer Sir Alexander MacKenzie (1764-1820), Russian poet Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837), and Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), the Scottish-Canadian-American inventor of the telephone.

Related Names

VariantsAleksander(Norwegian) Aleksander(Danish) Alexandros(Ancient Greek) Alexandros(Greek Mythology)
DiminutivesAl, Alec, Alex, Lex, Sandy, Xander, Zander(English) Alex(German) Alex, Lex, Sander, Xander(Dutch) Alex(Swedish) Alex, Sander(Norwegian) Alex, Sander(Danish) Alex(Icelandic) Alex, Sándor, Sanyi(Hungarian) Aleš(Slovak)
Feminine FormsAlexandra, Alexandrea, Alexandria, Alexina(English) Alexandra(German) Alexandra(Dutch) Alexandra(Swedish) Alexandra(Norwegian) Alexandra(Danish) Alexandra(Icelandic) Alexandra(Hungarian) Alexandra(Ancient Greek) Alexandra(Greek Mythology)
Other Languages & CulturesAleksandër, Skënder(Albanian) Eskender, Eskinder(Amharic) Iskandar(Arabic) Aleksandr, Aleks(Armenian) Alesander(Basque) Aliaksandr(Belarusian) Alexandros(Biblical Greek) Aleksandar, Skender(Bosnian) Aleksandar, Sasho(Bulgarian) Alexandre, Àlex(Catalan) Aleksandar, Sandi, Saša(Croatian) Alexandr, Aleš, Alex(Czech) Aleksandro, Aleĉjo(Esperanto) Aleksander, Sander(Estonian) Aleksanteri, Ale, Samppa, Santeri, Santtu(Finnish) Alexandre, Alex, Sacha, Sasha(French) Alexandre(Galician) Aleksandre, Sandro(Georgian) Alexandros, Alekos, Alex(Greek) Iskandar(Indonesian) Alastar(Irish) Alessandro, Ale, Alex, Sandro(Italian) Aleksandrs(Latvian) Aleksandras(Lithuanian) Aleksandar, Aca, Ace, Aco, Sasho, Saško, Sašo(Macedonian) Iskandar(Malay) Sikandar(Pashto) Eskandar(Persian) Aleksander, Aleks, Olek(Polish) Alexandre, Alex, Xande, Xandinho(Portuguese) Alexandru, Alex, Sandu(Romanian) Aleksandr, Alexandr, Alexsandr, Aleks, Alex, Alik, Sanya, Sasha, Sashok, Shura(Russian) Sawney(Scots) Alastair, Alistair, Alister, Ally(Scottish) Alasdair(Scottish Gaelic) Aleksandar, Aca, Aco, Saša(Serbian) Aleksander, Aleks, Aleš, Sandi, Saša, Sašo(Slovene) Alejandro, Ale, Álex(Spanish) İskender(Turkish) Aleksandr, Oleksander, Oleksandr, Aleks, Oles, Sasha(Ukrainian) Sikandar(Urdu) Sender(Yiddish)
Surname DescendantsAlexandersen(Danish) Alexander, Allison(English) Alexandersson(Icelandic) Alexandersen(Norwegian) Alexanderson, Alexandersson(Swedish)

People think this name is

classic   mature   formal   upper class   wholesome   strong   refined   serious  

Name Days

Denmark: March 18
Russia: November 19
Slovakia: February 27
Sweden: December 12

Images

Detail of a mosaic depicting the Battle of Issus, from PompeiiDetail of a mosaic depicting the Battle of Issus, from Pompeii

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Entry updated April 5, 2022