Alexis
The story
Alexis comes from the Greek verb alexein, to defend or help. In ancient Greek and later European use it was primarily masculine, and saints, Byzantine figures, and Russian writers carried related forms. English-speaking America then gave it a second gender history. The glamorous Alexis Carrington of the television series Dynasty arrived in 1981 as the curve first began to climb for girls. The US record rises in the 1980s, surges to its high level in the 1990s, holds there through the 2000s, and then eases in the 2010s and 2020s. The timing makes the television association notable without proving a single cause. Alexis remains used for boys too, especially across languages where its older masculine tradition is stronger. One spelling therefore holds an ancient defender and a distinctly modern American feminine wave.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Alexis peaked in the 1990s and the 2000s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
1,850 people · the #5,383 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 111,111 · median age 34
Among people named Alexis living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 47 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Alexis
Most people given the name Alexis in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Alexis deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Alexis truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Alexis fits with your family’s names and surname.
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