Unisex nameCurrently #484 in the USFalling
Alexis
uh-LEK-siss//əˈlɛksɪs//
3 syllablesPeak year: 19986 lettersStarts with A
Meaning & origin
Defender, helper
Alexis comes from the Greek 'alexein', meaning to defend or help, and was historically used for boys before becoming predominantly a girls' name in the US from the 1980s onward. Strong and versatile, it works well in both formal and casual contexts.
Alexis's popularity over time
| Year | Births named Alexis |
|---|---|
| 1882 | 6 |
| 1887 | 5 |
| 1895 | 5 |
| 1907 | 5 |
| 1911 | 8 |
| 1912 | 14 |
| 1913 | 6 |
| 1914 | 14 |
| 1915 | 14 |
| 1916 | 20 |
| 1917 | 19 |
| 1918 | 13 |
| 1919 | 18 |
| 1920 | 19 |
| 1921 | 19 |
| 1922 | 9 |
| 1923 | 17 |
| 1924 | 14 |
| 1925 | 18 |
| 1926 | 13 |
| 1927 | 11 |
| 1928 | 8 |
| 1929 | 11 |
| 1930 | 8 |
| 1931 | 17 |
| 1932 | 11 |
| 1933 | 13 |
| 1934 | 11 |
| 1935 | 9 |
| 1937 | 12 |
| 1938 | 5 |
| 1939 | 13 |
| 1940 | 7 |
| 1941 | 12 |
| 1942 | 52 |
| 1943 | 100 |
| 1944 | 147 |
| 1945 | 137 |
| 1946 | 237 |
| 1947 | 264 |
| 1948 | 231 |
| 1949 | 289 |
| 1950 | 248 |
| 1951 | 272 |
| 1952 | 280 |
| 1953 | 243 |
| 1954 | 210 |
| 1955 | 203 |
| 1956 | 226 |
| 1957 | 229 |
| 1958 | 231 |
| 1959 | 217 |
| 1960 | 233 |
| 1961 | 223 |
| 1962 | 230 |
| 1963 | 237 |
| 1964 | 190 |
| 1965 | 270 |
| 1966 | 289 |
| 1967 | 324 |
| 1968 | 284 |
| 1969 | 338 |
| 1970 | 477 |
| 1971 | 501 |
| 1972 | 532 |
| 1973 | 639 |
| 1974 | 781 |
| 1975 | 895 |
| 1976 | 907 |
| 1977 | 964 |
| 1978 | 1,025 |
| 1979 | 1,339 |
| 1980 | 1,621 |
| 1981 | 1,989 |
| 1982 | 3,883 |
| 1983 | 4,119 |
| 1984 | 3,768 |
| 1985 | 3,036 |
| 1986 | 2,627 |
| 1987 | 2,938 |
| 1988 | 3,319 |
| 1989 | 4,067 |
| 1990 | 5,994 |
| 1991 | 7,768 |
| 1992 | 8,715 |
| 1993 | 11,934 |
| 1994 | 14,327 |
| 1995 | 16,215 |
| 1996 | 18,387 |
| 1997 | 20,353 |
| 1998 | 22,095 |
| 1999 | 21,671 |
| 2000 | 20,346 |
| 2001 | 19,173 |
| 2002 | 18,015 |
| 2003 | 17,588 |
| 2004 | 17,652 |
| 2005 | 15,026 |
| 2006 | 14,441 |
| 2007 | 12,580 |
| 2008 | 12,075 |
| 2009 | 11,963 |
| 2010 | 9,899 |
| 2011 | 8,019 |
| 2012 | 6,932 |
| 2013 | 5,976 |
| 2014 | 5,421 |
| 2015 | 4,430 |
| 2016 | 3,660 |
| 2017 | 2,876 |
| 2018 | 2,331 |
| 2019 | 1,998 |
| 2020 | 1,649 |
| 2021 | 1,581 |
| 2022 | 1,546 |
| 2023 | 1,328 |
| 2024 | 1,240 |
Alexis through the decades
- Alexis peaked in 1998, when 22,095 babies were named Alexis in the US.
- The 2000s were Alexis's strongest decade, averaging 15,886 births a year.
- Over the last 10 years of data (2015–2024), use of Alexis has fallen 78% compared to the 10 years before that.
- Alexis currently ranks #484 in the US and is cooling off.
Nicknames
Lexi
Variants & spellings
AlexusAlexi