Gender Masculine & Feminine
Scripts Αλέξης(Greek) Ἄλεξις(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced Pron. /a.lek.si/(French) /ə.ˈlɛk.sɪs/(English) /a.ˈlek.sis/(Spanish)  [key·simplify]

Meaning & History

From the Greek name Ἄλεξις (Alexis) meaning "helper" or "defender", derived from Greek ἀλέξω (alexo) meaning "to defend, to help". This was the name of a 3rd-century BC Greek comic poet, and also of several saints. It is used somewhat interchangeably with the related name Ἀλέξιος or Alexius, borne by five Byzantine emperors.

In the English-speaking world this name is more commonly given to girls. This is due to the American actress Alexis Smith (1921-1993), who began appearing in movies in the early 1940s. It got a boost in popularity in the 1980s from a character on the soap opera Dynasty.

Related Names

Rootalexo
VariantsAlexia, Alexus(English) Alejo(Spanish)
DiminutivesAlexina, Lexi, Lexia, Lexie, Lexine, Lexus, Lexy(English)
Feminine FormsAlexia(French) Alexia(Greek) Alexia(Spanish)
Other Languages & CulturesAliaksei(Belarusian) Aleksi(Bulgarian) Aleix, Alèxia(Catalan) Aljoša(Croatian) Alexej, Aleš(Czech) Aleksi, Ale(Finnish) Aleixo(Galician) Aleksi(Georgian) Elek(Hungarian) Alessia, Alessio(Italian) Aleksejs(Latvian) Aleksy(Polish) Aleixo(Portuguese) Aleksei, Aleksey, Alexei, Alexey, Aleks, Alex, Alyosha, Lyosha(Russian) Aleksa, Aljoša(Serbian) Alexej, Aleš(Slovak) Aleksej, Aleks, Aleš, Aljoša(Slovene) Oleksiy, Olexiy, Oles(Ukrainian)
User SubmissionAlèxis

People think this name is

youthful   upper class   wholesome   refined   strange   serious  

Name Days

France: February 17
Germany: July 17
Greece: March 17
Spain: February 17
Spain: July 17
Sweden: December 12

Categories

Sources & References

Entry updated October 6, 2024