The name in English is taken from the Latin "Alexander," which is a Romanization of the original Greek Nominative ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ (''Alexandros''). The Genitive form in Greek is ''Alexandrou''.
- alek-''), meaning "refuge, protection, defence," together with ''-andros'', the compound form of andēr (from the PIE ''---ner-''), the Greek word for "man." Thus is may be roughly translated as "protector of man." The term is either a rare type of "inverse Tatpurusha " compound, with the modifier in second position (the cognate Sanskrit tatpurusha being ---nararakṣa, cf. Ramayana 6.33.45; the exact Sanskrit counterpart would be ---rakṣinara, from PIE hleks(i)-hnros), or a worn-down Terpsimbrotos type compound, whose original verbal meaning was "he protects men".
The earliest reference to the name may be that to Alaksandu in the 13th Century BC .
The name was one of the titles ("epithets") given to the Greek goddess Hera and as such is usually taken to mean "one who comes to the aid of warriors." In the Iliad , the character Paris is known also as Alexander. The name's popularity was spread throughout the Hellenistic World by the military conquests of King Alexander III of Macedon, commonly known as (''Μέγας Αλέξανδρος'').
- Alexandros, Alexis, Alekos/Aleka ( Greek )
- Alec, Alle, Alecu, Sandu ( Romanian )
- Alejandro, Ale, Alejo ( Spanish )
- Alessandro, Sandro ( Italian Language )
- Alexei, Aleksandr ( Russian )
- Aleksandar, Aleks ( Serbian )
- Alen ( Bosnian )
- Sándor ( Hungarian )
- Xan, Xander, Xandi, Alexandre ( French )
- Alexandre, Alex ( Portuguese )
- Alasdair, Alistair ( Scots Gaelic )
- İskender ( Turkish )
- Sander ( Dutch )
Also in more modern times, Alexander has been shortened to "Lex" (popularized by the superman villain Lex Luthor)
- Alexander I Of Scotland , (c. 1078 – April, 1124 )
- Alexander II Of Scotland , ( 1198 – July 6 , 1249 )
- Alexander Nevsky , ( May 30 , 1220 – November 14 , 1263 ), Grand Prince of Novgorod and Vladimir .
- Alexander III Of Scotland , ( September 4 , 1241 – March, 1286 )
- Alexandru Cel Bun , voivode of Moldavia ( 1400 – 1432 )
- Skenderbeg , ( 1405 – 1468 ), prince of Albania
- Eskander or Alexander, Emperor of Ethiopia ( 1472 – 1494 )
- Alexander Of Poland ( 1461 1506 ), king of Poland
- Alexander I Of Russia , ( 1777 – 1825 ), emperor of Russia
- Alexander II Of Russia , ( 1818 – 1881 ), emperor of Russia
- Alexander III Of Russia , ( 1845 – November 1 , 1894 ), emperor of Russia
- Alexander Karadjordjevic , ( 1842 – 1858 ), Serbian prince
- Alexander Of Bulgaria , ( 1857 – 1893 ), first prince of Bulgaria
- Alexander John Cuza , prince of Romania ( 1859 – 1866 )
- Alexander Obrenovich , ( 1876 – 1903 ), king of Serbia
- Alexander Of Yugoslavia ( 1888 – 1934 ), first king of Yugoslavia
- Zog I a.k.a. Skenderbeg III,( 1895 – 1961 ), king of Albanians
- Alexander Of Greece (king) , ( 1917 – 1920 ), king of Greece
- Leka I , ( 1939 —), king of Albanians (throne pretender)
- Willem-Alexander, Prince Of Orange
- Alexander I, Pope , (pope 97 – 105 )
- Alexander II, Pope , (pope 1058 – 1061 )
- Alexander III, Pope , (pope 1164 – 1168 )
- Alexander IV, Pope , (pope 1243 – 1254 )
- Alexander V, Pope , (''Peter Philarges'' ca. 1339 – May 3 , 1410 )
- Alexander VI, Pope , ( 1493 – 1503 ), Roman pope
- Alexander VII, Pope , ( 1599 – 1667 )
- Alexander VIII, Pope , (pope 1689 – 1691 ),
- Alexander Of Constantinople , bishop of Constantinople ( 314 – 337 )
- Alexander (I) Of Alexandria , Coptic Pope, Patriarch of Alexandria between 313 and 328
- Alexander II Of Alexandria , Coptic Pope ( 702 – 729 )
- Alexander Of Lincoln , bishop of Lincoln
- Alexander Of Ashby , 13th century prior and poet
- Caleb Alexander (d. 1828), clergyman, writer, teacher
- Christopher Alexander , architect.
- Edward Porter Alexander , ( 1835 – 1910 ), officer in the U.S. Army and Confederate States Army.
- F. Matthias Alexander , Australian actor/orator, founder of Alexander Technique .
- Harold Alexander , British Second World War general.
- Jason Alexander , stage name of American actor Jason Scott Greenspan.
- Jason Allen Alexander , ex-husband of Britney Spears.
- John White Alexander , ( 1856 – 1915 ), American artist.
- Manny Alexander , Major League Baseball infielder
- Samuel Alexander , ( 1859 – 1938 ) philosopher and essayist
- Sarah Alexander , British actress
- Shaun Alexander , NFL running back
- Alexander (general) , son of Polyperchon, the regent of Macedonia
- Alexander Of Aphrodisias Greek commentator and philosopher
- Alexander Of Greece (rhetorician) , Greek rhetorician
- Alexander Of Hales 13th century Medieval theologian
- Alexander, Le Pargiter , 13th century abbot
- Paris (mythology) , otherwise known as Alex, the Trojan prince who kidnapped Helen
- Petőfi Sándor, hungarian poet
- Reményik Sándor, hungarian poet
- Wekerle Sándor, politican, prime minister
- Weöres Sándor, hungarian writer
A number of places are also associated with Alexander:
- Alexander (town), New York , United States
- Alexander (village), New York , United States
- Alexander City, Alabama , United States
- Alexander River , New Zealand
- Alexander, Arkansas , United States
- Alexander, Iowa , United States
- Alexander, Kansas , United States
- Alexander, Maine , United States
- Alexander, North Dakota , United States
- Alexanderplatz, (central Square), Berlin , Germany
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