Alexander

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Alexander

Gender: Masculine
Language: English

Etymology:
Alexander is the English form of Alexandros, a Greek name. Originally it meant “Defender of the People,” from “alexein” (to defend), and “andros” (man).

History:
Alexander was originally a title (“Defender of Men”) given to the goddess Hera, as well as to Prince Paris of Troy. It became a very popular name in Ancient Greece. Alexander was also very popular in the Middle Ages, especially in Scotland (since the 11th century), where several kings bore the name. It remains popular today.

Sasha appeared in the English world in the early 20th century.

Sawney, a Scottish diminutive, declined in the 19th century and is practically unknown today.

Pronunciation: AL-ex-ANN-derr.

Diminutives:
Czech: Olexa.
English: Alec, Aleck, Alex, Alyx, Lex, Sandy.
Hawaiian: Alika.
Hungarian: Elek.
Italian: Sandro.
Polish: Alek, Oles, Olech, Olek.
Russian: Sasha, Sacha, Sascha, Sashura.
Scottish: Alick, Ailig, Ellic, Sawney.
Yiddish: Sender.

Alternates: Alaxander, Alexandro, Aleckxander, Aleczander, Alexsander, Alyxzander, Elexander, Sander.
Basque: Alesander.
Dutch: Saskia.
English (Middle): Alesaunder.
French: Alexandre.
French (Middle): Alysaundre.
Gaelic (General): Alistair, Alistaire, Alister, Alaster, Allister.
Greek (Modern): Alexandros.
Hungarian: Sándor.
Irish Gaelic: Alasdair, Alastar, Alesdair, Alsandair.
Italian: Alessandro.
Manx: Alister, Alistryn.
Polish: Aleksander, Leksander, Oleksander.
Portuguese: Alexandre.
Russian: Aleksandr.
Scottish Gaelic: Alastair.
Spanish: Alejandro.
Ukrainian: Oleksander, Aleksander, Lyaksandro.

Surnames: Sanders, Saunders.

Feminine: Alexandra.

See also: Alastair, Alec, Alejandro, Alex, Alick, Alistair, Sacha, Sandy.

Famous Bearers:
Artists and Authors:
Alexander Aetolus (circa 280 B.C.)
Greek poet.
Alessandro Tassoni (1565-1635)
Italian poet.
Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510)
Italian painter.
Alexander Barclay (1476-1552)
English poet.
Alexander Scott (1525-1585)
Scottish lyricist.
Alexander Montgomerie (1556-1611)
Scottish poet.
Alexander Hume (1560-1609)
Scottish poet.
Alexandre Hardy (1572-1632)
French playwright.
Alessandro Algardi (1595-1654)
Italian sculptor.
Alexander Brome (1620-1666)
English poet.
Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725)
Italian composer.
Alexandre-Françcois Desportes (1661-1743)
French painter.
Alessandro Magnasco (1667-1749)
Italian painter.
Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
English poet.
Aleksandr Petrovich Sumarokov (1717-1777)
Soviet writer.
Alexander Chalmers (1759-1834)
Scottish editor.
Alessandro Manzoni (1785-1873)
Italian poet.
Aleksander Fredro (1793-1876)
Polish playwright.
Aleksandr Sergeyevich Griboyedov (1795-1829)
Russian playwright.
Alexandre Dumas, Père (1802-1870)
French novelist.
Alexandros Soutsos (1803-1863)
Greek poet.
Alexandre Decamps (1803-1860)
French painter.
Alexander Harris (1805-1874)
English author.
Aleksandr Sergeyevich Dargomyzhsky (1813-1869)
Russian composer.
Alexander Dreyschock (1818-1869)
Bohemian painter.
Alexander McLachlan (1818-1896)
Scottish-Canadian poet.
Alexander Gardner (1821-1882)
American photographer.
Sándor Petofi (1823-1856)
Hungarian poet.
Alexandre Dumas, Fils (1824-1895)
French novelist.
Sir Alexander Mackenzie (1847-1935)
Scottish composer.
Alexander Keilland (1849-1906)
Norwegian novelist.
Aleksandr Stepanovich Grin (1880-1932)
Soviet writer.
Alexander Achipenko (1887-1964)
Ukrainian-American sculptor.
Alexander Woollcott (1887-1943)
American author. Leader of the Algonquin Round Table.
Alexander Tcherepnin (1899-1977)
Russian-American pianist.
Sándor Vegh (1905-1997)
Hungarian violinist.
Sándor Weöres (1913-1989)
Hungarian poet.

Educators, Scholars, and Social Workers:
Alexander Polyhistor (?-35 B.C.)
Ancient historian, philosopher, and geographer.
Alexander of Aphrodisias (200-?.)
Greek philosopher.
Alexander Neckam (1157-1217)
English educator at Oxford.
Alexander of Hales (1170-1245)
English philosopher and theologian.
Alexander Hegius (1433-1498)
German educator.
Alessandro Achillini (1463-1512)
Italian philosopher.
Alexander Nowell (1507-1602)
English scholar.
Sir Alexander Cunningham (1814-1893)
English archeologist.
Alexander Bain (1818-1903)
Scottish philosopher.
Alexander Goldenweiser (1880-1940)
American anthropologist.
Sir Alexander Paterson (1884-1947)
British prison reformer.
Sir Alexander Carr-Saunders (1886-1966)
English founder of universities.

Fictional Characters:
Lex Luthor
Superman’s arch-enemy.

Miscellaneous:
Alexander Selkirk (1676-1721)
Scottish sailor. The basis for Robinson Crusoe (1719)
Sir Alexander Mackenzie (1755-1820)
Scottish explorer of Canada.
Alexander Gordon Laing (1793-1826)
Scottish explorer of Africa.
Sir Alexander Burnes (1805-1841)
Scottish explorer of the Middle East.
Alexander Macmillan (1818-1896)
Co-founder of Macmillan Publishing.
Alexander Joy Cartwright (1820-1892)
Organized and codified the American rules for baseball.
Alexander Winton (1860-1932)
Scottish-American automobile manufacturer.
Alexander Vandegrift (1887-1973)
American Marine officer in WWII.
Alexander Alekhine (1892-1946)
Russian chess player.
Sándor Petofi (1930-1996)
Hungarian athlete.

Places:
Alexander Archipelago
Alaska.
Alexander Island
Antarctica.

Political Figures:
Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany (1454-1485)
Scottish nobleman. Conspired with the English.
Alessandro Farnese (1545-1592)
Regent of the Netherlands.
Alexander Spotswood (1676-1740)
British governor of Virginia.
Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804)
American politician. Killed in a duel with Aaron Burr.
Sir Alexander John Ball (1757-1809)
A governor of Malta (1802-1809).
Alexandre Sabès Pétion (1770-1818)
Liberator of Haiti.
Alexandros Mavrokordatos (1791-1865)
Greek statesman.
Aleksander Wielopolski (1803-1877)
Polish statesman.
Alexander H. Stephens (1812-1883)
Vice president of the Confederate States of America.
Alexandros Koumoundhouros (1814-1883)
Greek prime minister.
Alexander Mackenzie (1822-1892)
A Prime Minister of Canada (1873-1878).
Alexander Morris (1826-1889)
Canadian statesman.
Alexandre Ribot (1842-1923)
French statesman.
Alessandro Fortis (1842-1909)
Italian statesman and premier.
Count Aleksandr Izvolsky (1856-1919)
Russian diplomat.
Count Aleksander Skrzynski (1882-1931)
Polish statesman.
Alexandros Papagos (1883-1955)
Premier of Greece.
Alessandro Pertini (1896-1990)
President of Italy from 1978 to 1985.
Alexander Dubcek (1921-1992)
First secretary of the Communist party in Czechoslovakia.
Aleksander Kwasniewski (1954-)
Polish statesman.

Religious Figures:
Saint Alexander I (Anselm of Baggio ) (?-115)
The fifth pope.
Pope Alexander II (Anselm of Baggio ) (?-1075)
Pope from 1061 to 1073.
Pope Alexander III (Rolando Bandinelli ) (1105-1181)
Fought with the Holy Roman Empire.
Pope Alexander IV (Rinaldo Dei Segni ) (1199-1261)
Pope from 1254 to 1261.
Saint Alexander Nevsky (Aleksandr Nevsky) (1220-1263)
A Prince of Novgorod and Kiev, he halted German and Swedish aggression.
Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia) (1431-1503)
Corrupt and neglectful.
Alessandro Valignano (1539-1606)
Italian missionary to China.
Pope Alexander VII (Fabio Chigi) (1599-1667)
Pope from 1655 to 1667.
Pope Alexander VIII (Pietro Vito Ottoboni) (1610-1691)
Pope from 1689 to 1691.
Alexander Campbell (1788-1866)
American clergyman. Founded Bethany College.
Alexander Duff (1806-1878)
Scottish missionary to India.
Alexander Kohut (1842-1894)
Hungarian-American rabbi. Helped found the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.

Royalty:
Alexander I of Macedonia (Aleksander Philhellene ) (?-450 B.C)
Called Alexander the Wealthy.
Alexander of Pherae (?-358 B.C.)
Dictator of Pherae (Thessaly, Greece).
Alexander the Great (Alexander III) (356 B.C.-323 B.C)
King of Macedonia. Conquered most of the known world.
Alexander Balas (Alexander Epiphanes) (?-145 B.C)
King of Syria.
Emperor Alexander of Byzantium (870-1913)
Co-emperor with his brother, Leo VI.
King Alexander I of Scotland (1080-1124)
Preserved the independence of the Scottish church from the English church.
King Alexander II of Scotland (1198-1249)
Son of William the Lion. Made peace with England.
Saint Alexander Nevsky (Aleksandr Nevsky) (1220-1263)
A Prince of Novgorod and Kiev, he halted German and Swedish aggression.
King Alexander III of Scotland (1241-1286)
Died from falling off a cliff.
King Alexander of Poland (Aleksander Jagiellonczyk) (1461-1606)
Fought with the Russians.
Alessandro de Medici (1510-1537)
1st duke of Florence.
Tsar Alexander I of Russia (Aleksander Pavlovich ) (1777-1825)
Raised by his grandmother, Catherine the Great. Fought Napoleon.
Prince Alexander of Serbia (Aleksander Karageorgevic ) (1806-1885)
Forced into exile.
Tsar Alexander II of Russia (Aleksander Nikolayevich ) (1818-1881)
A liberally inclined tsar, he initiated a number of modern reforms, and was assassinated.
Tsar Alexander III of Russia (Aleksander Aleksandrovich ) (1845-1894)
Son of Alexander II. A conservative tsar.
Prince Alexander I of Bulgaria (1857-1893)
First prince of Bulgaria. Forced to abdicate.
King Alexander of Serbia (Aleksander Obrenovic) (1876-1973)
A very unpopular leader. Murdered.
Alexander (1888-1934)
King of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, later Yugoslavia. Assassinated.
King Alexander of Greece (1893-1920)
Ruled from 1917 to 1920. Died of blood poisoning from a bite from his pet monkey.

Scientists:
Alexander of Tralles (Alexander Trallianus) (525-605)
Byzantine physician.
Alexander Dalrymple (1737-1808)
Scottish geographer.
Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta (1745-1827)
Italian physicist.
Alexander Wilson (1766-1813)
Scottish-American ornithologist.
Alexander von Humbolt (1769-1859)
German naturalist.
Alexander Carl Braun (1805-1877)
German botanist.
Alexander William Williamson (1824-1904)
English chemist.
Alexander Ross Clarke (1828-1914)
English geodesist (someone who deals with the size and shape of the earth).
Aleksandr Butlerov (1828-1886)
Russian chemist.
Alexander Buchan (1829-1907)
British meteorologist.
Alexander Agassiz (1835-1910)
Swiss marine zoologist.
Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922)
Scottish-Canadian-American inventor of the telephone.
Alexandre Yersin (1863-1943)
Swiss-French bacteriologist.
Sándor Ferenczi (1873-1933)
Hungarian psychoanalyst.
Sir Alexander Fleming (1881-1955)
Scottish bacteriologist. Discovered penicillin. Co-winner of the 1945 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine.
Alexander Meissner (1883-1958)
Austrian engineer.
Alexander Wetmore (1886-1978)
American ornithologist.
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Friedmann (1888-1025)
Russian mathematician.
Alexander M. Lippisch (1894-1976)
German-American aerodynamicist.
Alexander Shulman (1915-1996)
Canadian-American physician.

Singers and Entertainers:
Sir Alexander Korda (Sándor Laszlo Kellner) (1893-1956)
Hungarian-British filmmaker.
Aleksander Dovzhenko (1894-1956)
Soviet filmmaker.
Alexandre Alexeïeff (1901-1982)
Russian-French filmmaker.
Alexandre Trauner (1906-1993)
Hungarian-French filmmaker.
Alexander Salkind (1921-1997)
German-American filmmaker.
Alexander Lee Spence (1946-1999)
Canadian musician. Member of Jefferson Airplane and Moby Grape.

Popularity:
Percentage from the 1990 U.S. Census:
0.132 % named Alexander
0.115 % named Alex
0.043 % named Alejandro
0.007 % named Sandy
0.006 % named Alec
less than 0.004 % named Alastair, Alasdair, Alistair, Sacha, Sasha etc.

Popularity of Alexander:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1800: 42nd most popular.
1850: 30th most popular.
1875: 42nd most popular.
1900-1910: 101st most popular.
1910-1920: 99th most popular.
1920-1930: 141st most popular.
1930-1940: 188th most popular.
1940-1950: 199th most popular.
1950-1960: 212th most popular.
1960-1970: 204th most popular.
1970-1980: 102nd most popular.
1980-1990: 48th most popular.
1990: 29th most popular.
1991: 25th most popular.
1992: 23rd most popular.
1993: 21st most popular.
1994: 22nd most popular.
1995: 21st most popular.
1996: 22nd most popular.
1997: 22nd most popular.
1998: 22nd most popular.
1999: 21st most popular.
2000: 20th most popular.
2001: 20th most popular.
2002: 15th most popular.
2003: 16th most popular.

In Ireland...
1998: 75th most popular.
1999: 68th most popular.
2000: 72nd most popular.
2001: 65th most popular.
2002: 56th most popular.
2003: 49th most popular.

Popularity of Alexandro:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-1980: N/A
1980-1990: 946th most popular.
1990: 849th most popular.
1991: 865th most popular.
1992: 891st most popular.
1993: 890th most popular.
1994: 770th most popular.
1995: 896th most popular.
1996: 835th most popular.
1997: 801st most popular.
1998: 853rd most popular.
1999: 802nd most popular.
2000: 794th most popular.
2001: 778th most popular.
2002: 719th most popular.
2003: 819th most popular.

Popularity of Alexandre:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-1990: N/A
1990: 822nd most popular.
1991: 798th most popular.
1992: 868th most popular.
1993: 766th most popular.
1994: 799th most popular.
1995: 855th most popular.
1996: 877th most popular.
1997: 922nd most popular.
1998: 873rd most popular.
1999: 983rd most popular.
2000: 943rd most popular.
2001: N/A
2002: 937th most popular.
2003: 903rd most popular.

In France...
1900: 39th most popular.
1910: 43rd most popular.
1920: 56th most popular.
1930: 56th most popular.
1940: 81st most popular.
1950: 106th most popular.
1960: 112th most popular.
1970: 53rd most popular.
1980: 11th most popular.
1990: 5th most popular.
2000: 7th most popular.

Popularity of Alexzander:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-2000: N/A
2000: 973rd most popular.
2001: 926th most popular.
2002: 771st most popular.
2003: 676th most popular.