Alexandra

This article is about the human name. For other uses, see Alexandra (disambiguation).
Alexandra
Pronunciation/ˌælɪɡˈzændrə, -ˈzɑːn-/
AL-ig-ZA(H)N-drə
GenderFemale
Language(s)From the Greek Alexandra, the female form of Alexandros, from alexein meaning "to ward off, keep off, turn away, defend, protect" and aner meaning "man"
Name dayAugust 30
Origin
Meaning"Defender, protector of mankind"
Other names
See alsoAlejandra, Aleksandra, Alissandra, Alessandra, Oleksandra, Alexandrine, Alex, Alexa, Alexis, Cassandra, Kassandra, Lexi, Lexie, Lexa, Alessia, Alessiya, Alesiya, Olesia, Olesiya, Olessiya, Sandra, Sandrna, Sandrine, Sally, Sandy, Sendy, Shandy, Sasha, Shura, Xandra, Ksandra.
The name Alexandria is similar, though itself means "land, place of Alexander".
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Alexandra (‹See Tfd›Greek: Ἀλεξάνδρα)[a] is a female given name of Greek origin. It is the first attested form of its variants, including Alexander (‹See Tfd›Greek: Ἀλέξανδρος, Aléxandros).[1] Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb ἀλέξειν (alexein; meaning 'to defend') and ἀνήρ (anēr; GEN ἀνδρός, andros; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "protector of man".[2][3][4] The name Alexandra was one of the epithets given to the Greek goddess Hera and as such is usually taken to mean "one who comes to save warriors". The earliest attested form of the name is the Mycenaean Greek 𐀀𐀩𐀏𐀭𐀅𐀨 (a-re-ka-sa-da-ra or /aleksandra/), written in the Linear B syllabic script.[5] Alexandra and its masculine equivalent, Alexander, are both common names in Greece as well as countries where Germanic, Romance, and Slavic languages are spoken.


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  1. ^ Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006). A Dictionary of First Names. Oxford paperback reference. Oxford University Press. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1. OCLC 67869278. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  2. ^ Ἀλέξανδρος. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project
  3. ^ ἀλέξειν in Liddell and Scott
  4. ^ ἀνήρ in Liddell and Scott.
  5. ^ Tablet MY V 659 (61). "The Linear B word a-re-ka-sa-da-ra". Palaeolexicon. Word study tool of ancient languages. "MY 659 V (61)". DĀMOS Database of Mycenaean at Oslo. University of Oslo. Raymoure, K.A. "a-re-ka-sa-da-ra-qe". Deaditerranean. Minoan Linear A & Mycenaean Linear B. Chadwick, John (1999) [1976]. The Mycenaean World. New York: Cambridge University Press.