What is "alain"

Alain may refer to:

• Alain (given name), common given name
• Alain (surname)
• "Alain", a pseudonym for cartoonist Daniel Brustlein
• 1969 Alain (1935 CG), a Main-belt Asteroid discovered in 1935
• Alain, Iran, a village in Tehran Province, Iran
• Al Ain International Airport in the United Arab Emirates
• Alain Afflelou, French retail chain specializing in optical services and sales of the Alain Afflelou brand of eyewear
• Alain (genus), a genus of crabs in the family Pinnotheridae
• Émile Chartier (1868–1951), French philosopher and antimilitarist commonly known as Alain
• Prix Alain-Grandbois or Alain Grandbois Prize is awarded each year to an author for a book of poetry
• Rosa 'Alain', popular red floribunda rose variety
• Val-Alain, Quebec, village of 950 people in Quebec, Canada
• Alain van Versch, a fictional character played by Matthias Schoenaerts in Rust and Bone

Alain (Alanus) (died 1185) was a Cistercian abbot of La Rivour, and bishop of Auxerre from 1152 to 1167. He was a close associate of Bernard of Clairvaux, who was instrumental in getting him appointed bishop, under commission from Pope Eugene III, after a dispute in the diocese. Alain was one of Bernard's biographers.

He was born in Flanders, near Lille, and has often been confused with the later Alain of Lille. The book Doctrinale altum seu liber parabolarum, published c. 1485 is by the latter Alain, who died in 1203.

Alain is also widely used as a personal name and is the French form of Alan but also exists in English-speaking countries:

• Alain, bishop of Auxerre (died 1185), Cistercian abbot and bishop of Auxerre from 1152 to 1167
• Alain Acard (born 1951), French sprint canoeist
• Alain Akouala Atipault (born 1959), Congolese politician
• Alain Anderton, British author of business studies and economics textbooks
• Alain Andji (born 1974), French pole vaulter
• Alain André, Canadian politician and a City Councillor in Montreal, Quebec
• Alain Anziani (born 1951), member of the Senate of France, representing the Gironde department
• Alain Aspect (born 1947), French physicist
• Alain Auderset (born 1968), Swiss Christian author of comic books
• Alain Bédouma Yoda (born 1951), Burkinabé politician and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Regional Cooperation
• Alain Bélanger, Canadian professional hockey player
• Alain Badiou (born 1937), French philosopher
• Alain Bancquart (born 1934), French composer
• Alain Bashung (1947–2009), French singer, songwriter and actor
• Alain Bauer, (born 1962), French criminologist
• Alain Baxter (born 1973), Scottish professional skier
• Alain Beaulé (born 1946), retired Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman
• Alain Bédé (born 1970), Ivorian footballer
• Alain Behi (born 1978), French-Ivorian football player
• Alain Berger, Swiss orienteering competitor
• Alain Bergeron (born 1950), Canadian science fiction author and political scientist
• Alain Berliner (born 1963), Belgian director best known for the 1997 film Ma vie en rose
• Alain Bernard (born 1983), French swimmer from Aubagne, Bouches-du-Rhône
• Alain Bernat Gallego (born 1971), Andorran politician
• Alain Bernheim (born 1931), French musician and Masonic researcher
• Alain Berset (born 1972), President of the Swiss Council of States
• Alain Billiet (born 1951), the alleged designer of the euro sign
• Alain Blanchard (born 1419), commander of the crossbowmen of Touent during the Hundred Years' War
• Alain Blazevic (born 1970), Croatian/German actor
• Alain Blondel (born 1962), retired French decathlete
• Alain Bocquet (born 1946), member of the National Assembly of France
• Alain Boghossian (born 1970), retired Armenian-French football player
• Alain Boire (born 1971), Canadian politician
• Alain Bombard (1924–2005), French biologist, physician and politician
• Alain Bondue (born 1959), France cyclist
• Alain Boublil, librettist who worked with the composer Claude-Michel Schönberg
• Alain Bouchard, Canadian businessman
• Alain Bravo, French electrical engineer and entrepreneur
• Alain Calmat, French world champion figure skater
• Alain Côté (ice hockey b. 1957) (born 1957), professional ice hockey player for the Quebec Nordiques
• Alain Côté (ice hockey b. 1967) (born 1967), former professional ice hockey player and Roller Hockey player
• Alain Cacheux (born 1947), member of the National Assembly of France
• Alain Calmat (born 1940), French former competitive figure skater, surgeon, and politician
• Alain Cantareil (born 1983), French footballer
• Alain Caron (bass player) (born 1955), Canadian jazz musician
• Alain Caron (ice hockey) (1938–1986), Canadian professional ice hockey player
• Alain Casanova (born 1961), football former goalkeeper and manager
• Alain Cavalier (born 1931), French film director
• Alain Caveglia (born 1968), French football retired striker
• Alain Cayzac (born 1941), French advertising agent
• Alain Chabat (born 1958), French Jewish actor and director
• Alain Chamfort (born 1949), French singer of Breton origin
• Alain Chapel (1937–1990), French Michelin 3 starred chef
• Alain Chartier (1392–1430), French poet and political writer
• Alain Chatillon (born 1943), member of the Senate of France
• Alain Chevrier (born 1961), retired Canadian ice hockey goaltender
• Alain Claeys (born 1948), member of the National Assembly of France
• Alain Clark (born 1979), Dutch musician and producer
• Alain Colmerauer (born 1941), French computer scientist
• Alain Connes (born 1947), French mathematician
• Alain Corbin, French historian, specialist of the 19th century in France
• Alain Corneau (born 1943), French movie director and writer
• Alain Couriol (born 1958), former French football striker
• Alain Courtois (born 1951), Belgian politician
• Alain Cousin (born 1947), member of the National Assembly of France
• Alain Cuny (1908–1994), French actor
• Alain Daigle (born 1954), former professional ice hockey forward
• Alain Daniélou (1907–1994), French historian, intellectual, musicologist, Indologist, and convert to Shaivite Hinduism
• Alain de Benoist (born 1943), French academic, philosopher, founder of the Nouvelle Droite
• Alain de Boissieu (1914–2006), French general, son-in-law of general Charles de Gaulle
• Alain de Botton, (born 1969), British writer and television producer
• Alain de Cadenet (born 1945), on air personality for the SPEED Channel and ESPN
• Alain de Changy (1922–1994), Belgian racing driver
• Alain de Coëtivy (1407–1474), prelate from a Breton noble family
• Alain de Lille (1128–1202), French theologian and poet
• Alain de Mijolla (born 1933), French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist
• Alain de Royer-Dupré (born 1944), French racehorse trainer
• Alain de Solminihac (1593–1659), French Catholic religious reformer and bishop of Cahors
• Alain Decaux (born 1925), French historian
• Alain Delon (born 1935), César Award-winning French actor
• Alain Demurger, modern French historian, specialist of the history of the Knights Templar and the Crusades
• Alain Deneef, Belgian businessman
• Alain Desrosières, French statistician at the INSEE and a sociologist and historian of science at the EHESS
• Alain Destexhe, Belgian liberal politician
• Alain Digbeu (born 1975), French professional basketball player
• Alain Dorval (born 1946), French voice actor born in Algiers
• Alain Dostie (born 1943), Canadian cinematographer, film director and screenwriter
• Alain Dubuc, Canadian journalist and an economist
• Alain Ducasse (born 1956), Monégasque chef
• Alain Dufaut (born 1944), member of the Senate of France, representing the Vaucluse department
• Alain Duhamel (born 1940), French journalist and political commentator
• Alain Elkann (born 1950), Italian novelist and journalist of Jewish descent
• Alain Emmanuel de Coëtlogon (1646–1730), Marshal of France during the reign of Louis XIV and Louis XV
• Alain Enthoven (born 1930), Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense from 1961 to 1965
• Alain Escoffier (1949–1977), French anti-communist activist and martyr
• Alain Etchegoyen (1951–2007), American philosopher and novelist
• Alain Eyobo (born 1961), retired Cameroonian professional football forward
• Alain F. Carpentier M.D. Ph.D. (born 1933), French heart surgeon
• Alain Fauconnier (born 1945), French politician and a member of the Senate of France
• Alain Ferry (born 1952), member of the National Assembly of France
• Alain Ferté (born 1955), French professional racing driver
• Alain Figaret, French luxury shirt brand launched in 1968 by Alain Figaret
• Alain Finkielkraut (born 1949), French essayist, and son of a Jewish Polish artisan
• Alain Fouché (born 1942), French politician and a member of the Senate of France
• Alain Fournier (1943–2000), computer graphics researcher
• Alain Garant (born 1952), Liberal party member of the Canadian House of Commons
• Alain Gaspoz (born 1970), Beninese football player who, is playing for FC Bagnes
• Alain Geiger (born 1960), retired Swiss international football defender and current manager
• Alain Gerbault (1893–1941), French aviator, tennis champion and sailor
• Alain Gest (born 1950), French politician
• Alain Giletti (born 1939), French figure skater
• Alain Giresse (born 1952), French professional football (soccer) midfielder
• Alain Glavieux (died 2004), French professor in electrical engineering
• Alain Goma (born 1972), former football player
• Alain Goraguer (born 1931), French jazz pianist, sideman of Boris Vian and Serge Gainsbourg, arranger and composer
• Alain Gouaméné (born 1966), former football goalkeeper from Côte d'Ivoire
• Alain Gournac (born 1943), French politician and a member of the Senate of France
• Alain Grandbois, CC (1900–1975), Quebecer poet born in Saint-Casimir, Quebec
• Alain Guionnet (born 1954), French revisionist and a left-wing activist
• Alain Haché (born 1970), experimental physicist and associate professor at the University of Moncton, Canada
• Alain Hamer (born 1965), Luxembourgan football referee
• Alain Héroux (born 1964), former professional ice hockey left winger
• Alain Hertoghe (born 1959), Belgian journalist who worked for the French Catholic newspaper La Croix
• Alain Houpert (born 1957), French politician and a member of the Senate of France
• Alain Huetz de Lemps, French geographer and botanist
• Alain Hutchinson (born 1949), Belgian politician and Member of the European Parliament
• Alain I of Albret (1440–1522), powerful French aristocrat
• Alain J. P. Belda, Chairman of the Board of Alcoa since January 2001
• Alain Jacquet (1939–2008), French artist representative of the American Pop Art movement
• Alain Jessua (born 1932), French film director and screenwriter
• Alain Johannes (born 1962), guitarist and member of the band Eleven
• Alain Johns, fictional gunslinger in Stephen King's Dark Tower series of novels
• Alain Joly, French businessman
• Alain Joyandet (born 1954), French politician
• Alain Junior Ollé Ollé (born 1987), Cameroonian professional footballer
• Alain Juppé (born 1945), French right-wing politician, Prime Minister of France from 1995 to 1997
• Alain Kashama (born 1979), professional Canadian footballer
• Alain Koffi (born 1983), French professional basketball player
• Alain Koudou (born 1984), Ivorian football striker
• Alain Krivine (born 1941), leader of the Trotskyist movement in France
• Alain Lamassoure (born 1944), French politician and Member of the European Parliament
• Alain Lambert (born 1946), French politician
• Alain Le Boulluec, contemporary French patristics scholar
• Alain Le Bussy (born 1947), prolific Belgian author of science fiction
• Alain Le Vern (born 1948), French Socialist Senator, president of the Haute-Normandie region
• Alain Lebas (born 1953), French sprint canoeist
• Alain Paul Lebeaupin (born 1945), French Archbishop
• Alain Lefèvre (born 1962), Québécois pianist and composer
• Alain Lemercier (born 1957), retired male race walker from France
• Alain Lemieux (born 1962), retired ice hockey player
• Alain Lequeux (1947–2006), French jockey
• Alain Lestié (born 1944), French painter and writer
• Alain Lipietz (born 1947), French engineer, economist, politician, member of the French Green Party
• Alain Liri (born 1979), Côte d'Ivoire footballer
• Alain Locke (1885–1954), American writer, philosopher, educator, and patron of the arts
• Alain Lombard (born 1940), French conductor
• Alain Mabanckou (born 1966), author and journalist
• Alain Maca, retired American soccer defender, President of the JFK International Air Terminal
• Alain Madelin (born 1946), French politician and former minister
• Alain Mafart, French military officer
• Alain Mamou-Mani, French film producer and writer
• Alain Manesson Mallet (1630–1706), French cartographer and engineer
• Alain Marc (born 1957), member of the National Assembly of France
• Alain Marion (1938–1998), French flautist
• Alain Marleix (born 1946), Secretary of State for Veterans in the government of François Fillon from 2007 to 2008
• Alain Marty (born 1946), member of the National Assembly of France
• Alain Masudi (born 1978), Congolese football player
• Alain Maury, French astronomer
• Alain Menu (born 1963), Swiss racing driver
• Alain Merchadier (born 1952), French retired professional football defender
• Alain Mesili, political activist in France during the 1968 disturbances
• Alain Meslet (born 1950), French professional road bicycle racer
• Alain Meunier (born 1942), French cellist
• Alain Michel Ekoue, Cameroonian football player
• Alain Mikli (born 1955), French designer of high-end handmade eyeglasses and accessories
• Alain Milon (born 1947), member of the Senate of France
• Alain Mimoun (born 1921), French Olympic marathon champion
• Alain Moizan (born 1953), French retired professional football midfielder
• Alain Moka (born 1954), Congolese politician
• Alain Moyne-Bressand (born 1945), member of the National Assembly of France
• Alain Muana Kizamba, goalkeeper from the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Alain Néri (born 1942), member of the National Assembly of France
• Alain Nasreddine (born 1975), professional ice hockey defenceman
• Alain Ndizeye (born 1986), Burundian football defender
• Alain Ndjoubi Ossami, Gabonese politician and economist
• Alain Nef (born 1982), Swiss football defender
• Alain Ngalani (born 1975), Cameroonian two-time Muay Thai kickboxing world champion
• Alain Nkong (born 1979), Cameroonian football midfielder
• Alain Paquet (born 1961), Canadian politician, teacher and economist
• Alain Pasquier (born 1942), French art historian specialising in ancient Greek art, museography and conservation
• Alain Passard (born 1956), French chef and owner of the three star restaurant L'Arpège in Paris
• Alain Payet (1947–2007), French director of Nazi exploitation and chic porn movies
• Alain Pellegrini (born 1946), French général de Division
• Alain Perrin (born 1956), French football manager and former footballer
• Alain Peyrefitte (1925–1999), French scholar and politician
• Alain Poher (1909–1996), French centrist politician
• Alain Poiré (1917–2000), French film producer and screenwriter
• Alain Pompidou (born 1942), French scientist and politician
• Alain Portes (born 1961), French handball player
• Alain Portmann (born 1981), Swiss football goalkeeper
• Alain Prost (born 1955), French racing driver
• Alain Provost, French Landscape Architect
• Alain Rémond (born 1946), French humor columnist
• Alain Raguel (born 1976), French football player
• Alain Rakotondramanana (born 1970), Malagasy footballer
• Alain Resnais (born 1922), French New Wave film director
• Alain Rey (born 1928), French linguist, lexicographer and radio personality
• Alain Rey (ski mountaineer) (born 1982), Swiss ski mountaineer
• Alain Richard (born 1945), French politician
• Alain Richard (ski mountaineer) (born 1985), Swiss ski mountaineer
• Alain Robbe-Grillet (1922–2008), French writer and filmmaker
• Alain Robert (born 1962), French rock and urban climber
• Alain Robidoux (born 1960), Canadian snooker player
• Alain Roca (born 1976), retired volleyball player from Cuba
• Alain Rochat (born 1983), Swiss footballer
• Alain Roche, former French football defender
• Alain Rohr (born 1971), Swiss athlete who specializes in the 400 metres hurdles
• Alain Rolland (born 1966), former Irish rugby union footballer and current international referee
• Alain Romans (1905–1988), French jazz composer
• Alain Rousset (born 1951), the Socialist president of the Aquitaine region of France
• Alain Sailhac, Executive Vice President and Dean Emeritus at the French Culinary Institute in New York City
• Alain Saint-Ogan (1895–1974), French comics author and artist
• Alain Sarde (born 1952), French film producer and actor
• Alain Sars (born 1961), retired French professional football referee
• Alain Savary (1918–1988), French Socialist politician
• Alain Schmitt (born 1983), French judoka
• Alain Schultz (born 1983), Swiss association footballer
• Alain Senderens, leading French chef credited as one of the founders of Nouvelle Cuisine
• Alain Sergile, Haitian swimmer who lived in Roswell, Georgia
• Alain Silver, US film and music producer, and reviewer, historian and writer on film topics, especially film noir and horror films
• Alain Simard (businessman), President and CEO of L’Équipe Spectra since its inception in 1977
• Alain Soral (born 1958), French sociologist, essayist, and film maker, as well as being the author of several polemical essays
• Alain Souchon (born 1944), French singer, songwriter and actor
• Alain Suguenot (born 1951), member of the National Assembly of France
• Alain Suied (1951–2008), French poet and translator
• Alain Supiot, French legal scholar
• Alain Sutter (born 1968), Swiss football player
• Alain Sylvestre (born 1979), professional Canadian kickboxer
• Alain Tabourian, Lebanese politician of Armenian origin
• Alain Tanner (born 1929), Swiss film director
• Alain Tardif (born 1946), Liberal party member of the Canadian House of Commons
• Alain Touraine (born 1925), French sociologist born in Hermanville-sur-Mer
• Alain Touwaide (born 1953), Belgian historian of medicine and sciences currently researching at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington D. C.
• Alain Traoré (born 1988), Burkinabé football (soccer) midfielder
• Alain Trudel (born 1966), Canadian musician, composer and conductor
• Alain Turnier, Haitian historian
• Alain Tytgadt, Belgian businessman and a Director of the KBC Group
• Alain Vanzo (1928–2002), French opera singer and composer
• Alain Vasselle (born 1947), member of the Senate of France representing the Oise department
• Alain Vasseur (born 1948), French professional road bicycle racer
• Alain Viala, professor of French Literature at the University of Oxford and the University of Paris III
• Alain Vidalies (born 1951), member of the National Assembly of France
• Alain Vigneault (born 1961), the head coach of the Vancouver Canucks of the NHL
• Alain Vivien (born 1938), French Socialist Party (PS) politician
• Alain Wertheimer (1949), French businessman who owns a controlling interest in the House of Chanel with his brother Gerard
• Alain Whyte (pronounced Alan) (born 1967), English guitarist, singer, and songwriter
• Alain Wicki, Swiss skeleton racer
• Alain Williams (born 1954), British sprint canoeist
• Alain Zoubga (born 1953), medical doctor and politician in Burkina Faso
• Alain-Fournier (1886–1914), the pseudonym of Henri Alban-Fournier, French author and soldier
• Alain-Marcel Linse (born 1956), French artist born in Paris
• Alain-Philippe Malagnac d'Argens de Villèle (1951–2000), the adopted son of French writer Roger Peyrefitte
• Alain-René Lesage (1668–1747), French novelist and playwright
• Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo'o (born 1957), Cameroonian political figure
• Étienne Alain Djissikadié (born 1977), Gabonese footballer
• Georges-Alain Jones (born 1975), French singer
• Jacques-Alain Bénisti (born 1952), member of the National Assembly of France
• Jacques-Alain Miller, prominent French Lacanian psychoanalyst
• Jean-Alain Boumsong (born 1979), Cameroonian professional football defender
• Jean-Alain Fanchone (born 1988), French footballer
• Marc-Alain Ouaknin (born 1957), French rabbi and philosopher
• Marie-Alain Couturier (1897–1954), French Dominican friar, designer of stained glass windows
• Michel-Eustache-Gaspard-Alain Chartier de Lotbinière (1748–1822), seigneur and political figure in Lower Canada
• Paul Alain Bingan (born 1987), Cameroonian professional footballer
• Phil Alain (born 1968), Canadian painter
• Pierre-Alain Donnier, Swiss journalist, died while reporting from Tchad in 1988
• Pierre-Alain Frau, (born 1980), French football forward
• Pierre-Alain Muet (born 1945), member of the National Assembly of France
• Yve-Alain Bois (born 1952), historian and critic of modern art

Alain is a surname, and may refer to:

• Jehan Alain (1911–1940), French organist and composer
• Marie-Claire Alain (1926–2013), French organist and organ teacher
• Olivier Alain (1918–1994), French organist, pianist, musicologist and composer
• Phil Alain (born 1968), Canadian painter