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".
This article contains special characters. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols.

Alexandra (Greek: Ἀλεξάνδρα)[a] is a female given name of Greek origin. It is the first attested form of its variants, including Alexander (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.

Variants

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People with the name

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Royalty

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Alexandra

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Aleksandra

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Fictional characters

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  • Alexandra, a character from the game Mystic Defender
  • Alexandra, Nikita character
  • Alexandra, the main antagonist in The Wildwood Chronicles
  • Alexandra the Royal Baby Fairy, character in the British book series Rainbow Magic
  • Alexandra "Alex" Bailey, a main character in Chris Colfer's The Land of Stories
  • Alexandra Borgia, an Assistant District Attorney in Law & Order, played by Annie Parisse
  • Alexandra Brooks DiMera, a.k.a. Lexie Carver, character in the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives
  • Alexandra Cabot, an Assistant District Attorney in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, played by Stephanie March
  • Alexandra "Alex" Cahill, character in the 1990s television series Walker, Texas Ranger
  • Alexandra Cross, a.k.a. Lexy Cross, a character in the USA/Syfy TV series, Chucky, based on the Child's Play media franchise
  • Alexandra Danvers, a.k.a. Alex Danvers, Kara Danvers' sister in Supergirl
  • Alexandra Dunphy, a.k.a. Alex Dunphy, character in the popular television series Modern Family
  • Alexandra Eames, a detective in Law & Order Criminal Intent, played by Kathryn Erbe
  • Alexandra Finch, sister of Atticus Finch in the 1960 novel To Kill A Mockingbird
  • Alexandra Garcia, a character in the anime and manga series Kuroko's Basketball
  • Alexandra Grey, a.k.a. Lexie Grey, character in the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy
  • Alexandra Vladimirovna Litvyak, a.k.a. Sanya V. Litvyak, a character from the anime/manga franchise Strike Witches
  • Alexandra Mack, a.k.a. Alex Mack, titular lead character in the popular television series The Secret World of Alex Mack
  • Alexandra Nuñez, a.k.a. Alex Nuñez, character in the Canadian television drama Degrassi: The Next Generation
  • Alexandra Margarita Russo, a.k.a. Alex Russo, character in the Disney Channel television series Wizards of Waverly Place, played by Selena Gomez
  • Alexandra Vause, a.k.a. Alex Vause, imprisoned drug dealer and love interest to protagonist to Piper Chapman in Netflix's Orange Is The New Black
  • Aleksandra Billewicz, a character in Deluge by Henryk Sienkiewicz
  • Aleksandra 'Zarya' Zaryanova, a Russian weightlifter turned soldier in the video game Overwatch
  • Alexandra "Lex" Foster, the main protagonist of Team StarKid's Black Friday (musical)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Alexándra, Ancient Greek: [aleksándra]
    Modern Greek: [aleˈksanðra]
  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.
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