This is just something that I've always wondered. I've often read that names actually have meanings and aren't just a noise that we've come to associate with individuals - Alexander apparently comes from Greek to mean "defender of men," Matthew is apparently Hebrew for "gift of god."
The thing is that, obviously, when I call my brother Matthew/Matt and he calls me Alexander/Alex we don't recognise the meaning our names have - to us, they're just the "sounds" we call eachother by. But back in antiquity, did people actually call one another the "titles" that these names mean? Did people say "hail king Alexander" or was it essentially like they were saying "hail king Defender of Men!" and so on?
Weird question, but something I've been thinking about recently and would appreciate having it cleared up. thanks!
Not to discourage further answers, but do remember that there are plenty of English names that are also words. People are named for virtues (Grace, Hope, Patience, Justice/Justus) or for nature (Autumn, Rose, Lily, Summer, Willow) or for pretty concepts (Melody, Scarlett) or for occupations (Taylor, Hunter, Smith). (and this is just names that came from those words, not ones that happen to be the same as ones) Do you think about hunting when you address your friend Hunter or expect Grace to be particularly forgiving? This is not simply a situation involving old or foreign names.
I doubt it. In modern Greek you may be named, e.g., "Theophilos" (beloved of god), "Athanassios" (immortal) or "Varvara" (barbarian/foreigner) but we don't consciously think that when using the name. Also, in view of the fact that Alexandros is found in the Linear B tablets, it's most likely that it's long use would make it just another name. That, of course, does not mean that parents may not have given their child the name because of it's meaning. Especially with rich & powerful families you would expect the male children to have "suitable" names. After all, Alexander the Great's father was named "lover of horses".
I have taken pleasure in reading the foregoing discussion and I am grateful to the authors. But I struggle a bit . I would like some help remembering my schoolboy Greek syntax from 40 years ago. I think I can remember Megalos Alexandros being used in Attic Greek. I guess Megalos then being either an adjective or an abverb. But Megas Alexandros seems wrong to me. Alexandros is clearly genitive so Megas (nominative) is surely wrong (doesn't agree with the case of Alexandros)? Or am I missing something obvious? If I am I would appreciate some help with my faulty brain/memory. I would like to understand the grammar.