Alexander

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ORIGIN & HISTORY

The name Alexander derives from Ancient Greek. It has been used by several people in history. For example, Alexander the Great 20th July 356 BCE – 10th June 323 BCE, also known as Alexander III, was an ancient Greek king of Macedon (336–323 BCE).

POPULARITY

Alexander has always been relatively popular as a boy's name, but was in a decline until hitting a low ranking of approximately 250, in about 1950. It experienced resurgence during the 1970s, leveling out around 1990, and hit its top ranking of 62 in early 2000.

Alex never seemed to be popular as a girl's name, although this varies, depending on the country. Limited records show a sharing of the resurgence from the 1970s to the 90s. It hit a high rank of about 550 in 1995, then plummeted to below 1000 by 2003.

In many countries around the world, the name Alex is common. It was ranked 67th in popularity in the United States in 2006. In Canada it ranked 112th for a boys name and 498th for girls in the year 2005. In Scotland it ranked 90th as a girls name and 97th as a boy's name in 2005. In Catalonia it ranked 2nd place for the years 2002 and 2003.

FACTS

NAMESAKES

• Alex P. Keaton (Michael J. Fox) was a young political conservative on the 80s sitcom "Family Ties." He was a faithful Republican who wore a shirt and tie every day, and was extremely motivated, especially when it came to money. He eventually became an Ohio senator.
• Alexander Lavelle "Xander" Harris (Nicholas Brendon) was a member of the close-knit "Scooby Gang" of friends in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." The series appeared on TV and in the comics. Xander had an irritating knack for dating women who turned out to be demons or otherwise possess supernatural powers.
• Alex DeLarge, the antihero of A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess.
• Alex Kidd, a video game character for the Sega company.
• Alex Krycek, a villain from the television series The X-files.
• Alex Rowe, the captain of the battleship Silvana in the anime series Last Exile.
• Alex, a dog who was the mascot of Stroh's Beer in the 1980s and 1990s.
• Hurricane Alex was the first hurricane of the Atlantic hurricane season of 2004.
• Several Brazilian-born footballers use the name ALEX in place of their own surnames
• Irene Pepperberg trained a gray parrot to talk and named him Alex which was an acronym for Avian Learning EXperiment. She found him to have intelligence comparable to a five-year-old child.
• In Slovakia, the name day for ALEX is January 9th. Name Days are proclaimed by the Catholic Church to honour saints.
• Alex is the name of a polymorphic language being developed by Stephen Crawley.
• Alex is the name of a Polish sniper rifle.
• The Alex was a prototype light car produced by Alexander and Co, Edinburgh, in 1908.
• The Alexander Technique was first developed in the 1890s by an Australian named Frederick Matthias Alexander.
• The town of Alex, Oklahoma was named after William V. Alexander, a postmaster.
• Alex is a municipality in the Haute-Savoie département of France.
• Alexandra Palace was built in North London, England in 1873 as a public recreation, education and entertainment centre.

FAMOUS PERSONS

• Alexander the Great (a.k.a Alexander III; July 20, 356 B.C. - June 10, 323 B.C.) was a Macedonian king and was undefeated as a military commander. He conquered many existing societies, including Egypt and Persia, during his expansion of the Greek empire, which covered approximately two million square miles and spanned three different continents.
• Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 - July 12, 1804) was the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. He was one of the Founding Fathers, a member of the Continental Congress, and founded the first U.S. political party, the Federalist Party. Hamilton had an awful temper and challenged many men to duels, including Aaron Burr.
• Alexander Graham Bell (March 3, 1874 - August 2, 1922) was a Scottish physicist, teacher, and inventor, most notable for inventing the telephone and starting Bell Telephone Company. He had varied scientific interests, including but not limited to deaf communication, air transport, artificial respiration, and hydrofoils.
• Alexander Murray Palmer Haley (August 11, 1921 - February 10, 1992) was a writer and novelist, who initially wrote to keep away boredom while in the Coast Guard. Haley eventually made a living of it, interviewing luminaries like Miles Davis, Malcolm X, Johnny Carson, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Quincy Jones for Playboy Magazine. After much research, he wrote his fiction work "Roots," which became a television miniseries.
• George Alexander Trebeck (born as Giorgi Suka-Alex Trebek on July 22, 1940) is the award-winning host of the game show "Jeopardy!" Born in Ontario, the composed Trebeck joined the Canadian Broadcasting Company as a newscaster in 1961, later hosting game shows such as "Reach for the Top," The Wizard of Odds," "High Rollers," and "Classic Concentration." He owns and manages a thoroughbred horse farm.
• Alexandrea "Alex" Borstein (born February 15, 1971) is an actress, writer, producer, and comedienne. She has acted in many movies and TV shows, most notably "Gilmore Girls," "MAD TV," "Robot Chicken," and she currently voices, produces, and writes for the animated hit "Family Guy."
• Alex Rodriguez American baseball player.
• Alex Grey (born November 29, 1953 artist.
• Alex Lifeson, (born August 27, 1953), is a Canadian musician.
• Alex Tudor (born October 23, 1977 in Kensington) is an English cricketer.

Authors: Len Morse, Polana Fehu