Alexandra A. Hanpeter

Alexandra is a Greek name meaning 'Defender of Men', and is the feminine version of Alexander, though I've always gone by Alex. My parent's got my first name from my mother's grandfather, who was named Alexander. I've always liked my first name, and didn't mind that it was also a boys name. There was only one other Alex in my high school class, so while I was growing up, it was a unique name. After meeting a lot of Alex's at Columbia, I still feel my name is unique and wouldn't swap it for another name. My name has fit me at every stage of my life and I expect it to continue doing so.

Ann is a Hebrew name meaning graceful, which definatly does not describe me very well. I got the middle name 'Ann' from my Dad's mother, which always makes me feel bad about hating the name so much. It's one of those middle names that everyone has, and I've always wanted some weird middle name no one has ever heard of, or a longer middle name, so I could have a long-ass majestic full name.

Though I've never been able to find a meaning for my last name, I know that it is German,  because my Grandfather was born in Germany. I've always had mixed feelings about my last name. People often spell or say it wrong, some examples being 'Handpeter', 'Hampeter' and once even 'Hamster'. Though I can honestly say I've never met another Hanpeter outside of my family, I think I'd like to. I think finding another Hanpeter would be a monumental moment in my life. Or at least a cool couple of minutes.