Alexander
Meaning: Its source is Alexandros, a Greek name meaning "Protector of men."
Languages: This boy's name is used in Hebrew, German, Dutch, English, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish and Romanian.
Nicknames: Alec, Aleck, Alex, Allie, Sander, Sandy, Sascha, Al, Alick, Lex, Sasha, Xander, Zander, Aleko and Lexo
Feminine Forms: Alexandra
Non-English Forms: Alejandro, Aleksandar, Aleksander, Aleksandr, Alexandre, Sandor, Aleksanteri, Alessandro and Iskender
Source Forms: Alexandros
Popularity: The name Alexander ranked 18th in popularity for males of all ages in a sample of 2000-2003 Social Security Administration statistics, 141st in popularity for males of all ages in a sample of the 1990 US Census and 16th in popularity for males of all ages in a sample of the 1994 US Census.
This name was popular earlier in the 20th century, then fell off in usage, but has begun making a comeback in recent years.
Narrative: This was originally a by-name of the Greek goddess Hera.
It was popularized as a personal name by the ancient Macedonian leader Alexander the Great. In the course of conquering much of the known world, from Egypt to India, Alexander also gave his name to numerous cities.
Arts and Music
- ''Alexander's Ragtime Band''
- Words and music by Irving Berlin (see list of Names in Song titles)
- Alexander Briley
- The GI in The Village People (see list of Real names of The Village People)
- Alexander Gardner (born 1821, died 1882)
American photographer.
- Subjects included the Civil War, Great Plains Indians and the construction of the American rail system (see list of Miscellaneous Photographers)
- Alexander Rodchenko (born 1891)
Russian designer and typographer.
- Associated with the Constructivist movement of the early Soviet era (see list of Graphic Designers)
Leadership
- Alexander the Great
Macedonian ruler who conquered much of the known world of his day.
- Ruled the largest western empire of the ancient world (see list of Miscellaneous Political Leaders)
- Alexander Hamilton (born 1757, died 1804)
American lawyer and statesman. Mortally wounded in a duel with political opponent Aaron Burr.
- First U.S. treasury secretary, 1789-95 (see list of Miscellaneous Political Leaders)
- Alexander I (born 1078, died 1124)
King of Scotland, 1107-24.
- Succeeded brother Edgar; quelled insurrection of northern clans (see list of Scottish Monarchs)
- Alexander I (born 1777, died 1825)
Tsar of Russia, 1801-25.
- Led Russia through the Napoleonic wars, personally commanding troops at the Battle of Austerlitz (see list of Generals of the Napoleonic Wars)
- Alexander II (born 1198, died 1249)
King of Scotland, 1214-49.
- Attacked England and repelled Norse invaders; died of fever during an attempt to conquer the Hebrides (see list of Scottish Monarchs)
- Alexander III (born 1241, died 1286)
King of Scotland, 1249-86.
- Forced recognition of his granddaughter Margaret (known as the Maid of Norway and subject of one of Scotland''s earliest poems, ''''Lament for Alisaundre'''') as his heir (see list of Scottish Monarchs)
- Alexander John Court Smith
- CEO of Fortune 500 company Marsh & McLennan (see list of 1996 Fortune 500 Company CEOs)
- Alexander J. Trotman
- CEO of Fortune 500 company Ford Motor (see list of 1997 Fortune 500 Company CEOs)
- CEO of Fortune 500 company Ford Motor (see list of 1996 Fortune 500 Company CEOs)
- Alexander I - VIII
Eight Roman Catholic popes served under this name, from Alexander I (105-115) to Alexander VIII (1689-1691).
- Alexander VI (1492-1503) issued the Papal Bull of Demarcation which divided the pagan areas of the New World between Portugal and Spain (see list of Religious Leaders)
Miscellaneous
- Alexander
- Variety of rose (see list of Rose Names)
- Alexander Graham Bell (born 1847, died 1922)
American inventor who specialized in telecommunications and aircraft.
- Had tuberculosis (see list of People Who Have Had Tuberculosis)
- Alexander Calder (born 1898, died 1976)
American sculptor known for his mobiles.
- 1977 recipient of Presidential Medal of Freedom (see list of Presidential Medal of Freedom Winners)
- Alexander Helios
- Twin son of Cleopatra and Marc Antony (see list of Famous Twins and Triplets)
- Alexander Meiklejohn (born 1872, died 1964)
English-born American educator. President of Amherst, 1912-24.
- 1963 recipient of Presidential Medal of Freedom (see list of Presidential Medal of Freedom Winners)
- Alexander Swan
- National Cowboy Hall of Fame (see list of National Cowboy Hall of Fame)
Science and Philosophy
- Alexander Graham Bell (born 1847, died 1922)
American inventor who specialized in telecommunications and aircraft.
- First to patent the telephone (see list of Engineers & Inventors)
- Member of the National Aviation Hall of Fame (see list of National Aviation Hall of Fame)
- Alexander P. DeSeversky (born 1894, died 1974)
Russian World War I ace who emigrated to the U.S. and became a noted aeronautical engineer.
- Member of the National Aviation Hall of Fame (see list of National Aviation Hall of Fame)
- Alexander Fleming (born 1881, died 1955)
British bacteriologist who discovered and developed penicillin.
- 1945 Nobel Prize winner in Physiology/Medicine, with Ernst Chain and Howard Florey (see list of Winners of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine)
- Alexander von Humboldt (born 1769, died 1859)
German explorer and botanist.
- Known for his South American expeditions (see list of Explorers)
- Alexander Polishchuk (born 1953)
Russian cosmonaut.
- Cosmonaut on Soyuz TM-16 (1993) (see list of Spaceflight Veterans)
- Alexander Rich
- 1995 National Medal of Science winner (see list of National Medal of Science Winners)
- Alexander A. Serebrov
Soviet cosmonaut.
- Cosmonaut on Soyuz TM-8 (1989), Soyuz TM-17 (1993) (see list of Spaceflight Veterans)
- Alexander Serebrov
Soviet cosmonaut.
- Cosmonaut on Soyuz T-7 (1982), Soyuz T-8 (1983) (see list of Spaceflight Veterans)
- Alexander R. Todd (died 1997)
Scottish biochemist known for his work with nucleotides.
- 1957 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry (see list of Winners of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry)
Sports
- Alexander A. Alekhine
French chess player.
- 1927-35 and 1937-48 World Chess champion (see list of World Chess Champions)
- Alexander Cartwright
- Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1938 (see list of Members of the Baseball Hall of Fame)
- Alexander Ditiatin
Soviet athlete.
- 1980 Olympic gymnastics gold medal winner for Individual All Around (see list of Gold Medalists in the Individual All-around)
- 1980 Olympic gymnastics gold medal winner for Rings (see list of Gold Medalists in Individual Gymnastics Events)
- Alexander Hord
British golfer.
- 1902 British Open golf champion (see list of British Open Golf Champions)
- Alexander Kourlovitch
Soviet athlete.
- 1988, 1992 Olympic weightlifting gold medal winner for 110+kg (see list of Olympic gold medalists in weightlifting)
- Alexander Kurynov
Soviet athlete.
- 1960 Olympic weightlifting gold medal winner for 75kg (see list of Olympic gold medalists in weightlifting)
- Alexander Portnov
Soviet athlete.
- 1980 Olympic gold medal winner for Springboard Diving (see list of Olympic Gold Medalists in Springboard Diving)
- Alexander Shabalaov
- 1993 U.S. Chess champion (see list of United States Chess Champions)
- Alexander Tkachev
Soviet athlete.
- 1980 Olympic gymnastics gold medal winner for Parallel Bars (see list of Gold Medalists in Individual Gymnastics Events)
- Alexander Voronin
Soviet athlete.
- 1976 Olympic weightlifting gold medal winner for 52kg (see list of Olympic gold medalists in weightlifting)
Stage and Screen
- Alexander Schneider (born 1908, died 1993)
Russian-born American violinist and conductor.
- 1988 Kennedy Center Honors recipient (see list of Kennedy Center Honors Recipients)
- Alexander Sebastian
Fictional character.
- Played by Claude Rains (see list of Character from Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious)
- Alexander Siddig (born 1965)
British actor who was born in Sudan. Original name: Siddig El Fadil.
- Portrays Dr. Julian Bashir (see list of Actors on ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'')
The Literary World
- Alexander
- Characters with this name appear in Henry VI, Pt. II and Troilus and Cressida (see list of Shakespearean Characters)
- Alexander Court
- One of the common soldiers who discuss the horrors of war with the disguised title character of Henry V (see list of Shakespearean Characters)
- Alexander B. Hawes, Jr.
- 1980 Pulitzer Prize winner for Investigative Reporting (see list of Winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting)
- Alexander B. MacDonald
- 1931 Pulitzer Prize winner for Reporting (see list of Winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Reporting)
- Alexander Pope (born 1688, died 1744)
English Neoclassical poet.
- Wrote The Rape of the Lock (see list of Writers of the Restoration and 18th Century)
- Alexander Zemlianichenko
- 1997 Pulitzer Prize winner for Feature Photography (see list of Winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography)
Teasing Nicknames:
- Alexander Salamander
- Zan
- Zander
- Nanu
- Xanadu
- Alexalamander
-
Alexander The Corrector
Used in reference to Alexander Cruden, a London bookseller who had a penchant for correcting the press.
Meaning: Its source is Alexandros, a Greek name meaning "Protector of men."
Popularity: The name Alexander ranked 2170th in popularity for females of all ages in a sample of the 1990 US Census.
Though this name appears on the 1990 U.S. Census lists, it is used by only a small percentage of the general population.
This is a name usually reserved for males. To some extent, it may owe its position on the US Census popularity list to mistakenly filled-out Census forms.
Narrative: This was originally a by-name of the Greek goddess Hera.
It was popularized as a personal name by the ancient Macedonian leader Alexander the Great. In the course of conquering much of the known world, from Egypt to India, Alexander also gave his name to numerous cities.
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