Alex is a common unisex diminutive of the boy's name Alexander or the girl's name Alexandra. It is derived from a compound of two Ancient Greek words, the verb 'alexo' meaning 'to ward off', 'to defend', or 'to resist', and the noun 'andres' meaning 'men'. Thus the name is usually translated to mean: 'defender of men' or 'defender of mankind'. However, the ambiguities inherent to translation between Ancient Greek and English mean that the name's specific meaning is flexible, and can therefore be translated as any combination of the respective Greek words' definitions. The name originates in the Ancient World, firstly being made famous by the Macedonian King Alexander the Great who, by conquering lands from his homeland of Greece to the borders of India, made the name known throughout the Europe and Asia of his day. He named dozens of cities after himself throughout his empire further ensuring the immortality of his name, the most famous being the great city Alexandria of Egypt which continues to exist today, and from these cities comes the name Alexandra from which the feminine version of Alex springs. Www.baby-names-meanings.net/meaning/alex.html
