al-Iskander?

I was quite startled to see in Ben Yagoda's book If You Catch An Adjective, Kill It, in the chapter on Articles, the claim that Alexander the Great was "born Iskander, a common Muslim name" and that "Al-Iskander gives him the honorific The".

I really wonder what his source is for this. Every single place I look - including the OED - states that Alexander is a purely Greek name. As the OED says:

"From the Latin form of the Greek name Alexandros, from alexein 'to defend' + aner 'man', 'warrior' (genitive andros). The compound was probably coined originally as a title of the goddess Hera, consort of Zeus. It was also borne as a byname by the Trojan prince Paris. The name became extremely popular in the post-classical period, and was borne by several characters in the New Testament and some early Christian saints. Its use as a common given name throughout Europe, however, derives largely from the fame of Alexander the Great, King of Macedon (356–23 BC), around whom a large body of popular legend grew up in late antiquity, much of which came to be embodied in the medieval 'Alexander romances'."

Iskander may be a common Muslim name, but Alexander of course predated Islam by many centuries. Furthermore, an Arabic speaker of my acquaintance says "Iskander" isn't of Arabic origin. The name, she thinks, probably derives the reverse of Yagoda's assertion - that is, Arabic speakers deconstructing Alexander into al-Iskander and dropped the "al" for ordinary folks - and that the name then spread through the Arab-influenced world; though she admits that's a guess on her part, it sounds good to me.

It's a bit disconcerting to come across something so obviously wacko in a book which is otherwise well done, by a respected professional.

Mar 19: note: I contacted Dr Yagoda and asked him what his source was. He responded:

I honestly don't remember, but it seems to have been spurious. Thanks for setting me right--I will change in future editions (in the event that there are any).--BY