Alphenor

The first element of this name is not entirely certain, as there are two possible etymologies for it. The first is that it is derived from the Greek noun ἀλφή (alphe) meaning "produce, gain, profit", which is etymologically related to the Greek verb ἀλφάνω (alphano) meaning "to bring in, to yield, to fetch (a price)".

The other possibility is that it is derived from the Greek noun ἀλφός (alphos), which was a rare word that originally meant "white, whiteness" (cognate to Latin Albus) but later came to refer to leprosy or a similar type of skin disease that is characterized by the formation of dull white lesions on the skin. There were other words more commonly used for the colour of white in ancient Greece, namely the noun λευκόν (leukon) and the adjective λευκός (leukos). The same goes for leprosy: this was usually known as λεύκη (leuke). Each of these three words is cognate to Latin Lux.

The second element of this name is derived from the Greek noun ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man". As such, the meaning of the name as a whole is either "a man's gain" or "white man" (as in, a white-haired man, i.e. an old and wise man). The meaning of "leprous man, leper" is highly improbable (at least for a given name), due to the heavy stigma that surrounded leprosy at the time.

In Greek mythology, Alphenor is the name of one of the Niobids.