Alexander Beider holds a doctoral degree in applied mathematics and another in Jewish Studies. He uses onomastics and linguistics as tools to unravel the history of the Jewish people. He has written a number of reference books dealing with the etymology of Jewish surnames and given names, all published by Avotaynu Inc. His book Origins of Yiddish Dialects, published by Oxford University Press, sheds light on the early stages of the development of Yiddish. Beider was born in Russia and currently lives in Paris.