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Lex

boy name
Origin
Greek
Syllables
1
Peak era
2000s/2020s
Today
▬ Steady

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Meaning

short form of Alexander, Greek for 'defender of the people'

The story

Read the story of Alexander →

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The formal names behind Lex

Lex is an established short form of this name.

Alexander · Greek origin · defender of men, from Greek Alexandros, combining words for "defend, help" and "man"

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Lex across languages

One shared root links 18 names across 7 languages.

Shared root: from Greek Alexandros, "defender of men"; Alexander the Great’s fame and medieval stories helped spread the name in Europe

The constellation

LexEnglish · short formAlexanderEnglishAleksanderPolishAlejandroSpanish
14 more branches of this family
AlexandraEnglish · feminine formAlexandriaEnglish · related formAlejandraSpanish · feminine formAlexandroSpanish · variantAlexEnglish · short formAlecScottish · short formAlexaEnglish · short formSashaRussian · diminutiveSandraItalian · short formSandyEnglish · diminutiveLexiEnglish · diminutiveLexieEnglish · diminutiveXanderDutch · short formZanderEnglish · variant

Ways to honor Alexander →

How popular is Lex around the world?

In the United States, 484 babies were named Lex between 2020 and 2025. In Canada, 13 boys named Lex were born in 2024, ranked 1,614th among boys that year.

Lex is on the official records of the United States, Canada, Mexico City, England and Wales, Spain and Brazil.

United States

1 in 45,000

In the United States, 484 babies were named Lex between 2020 and 2025.

1890speak 2000s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Lex peaked in the 2000s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

See the full list for the United States →

Canada

1 in 28,000

In Canada, 13 boys named Lex were born in 2024, ranked 1,614th among boys that year.

1991peak 20122024

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)

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Mexico City City

1 in 59,000

In Mexico City, there were 2 registrations of Lex in 2022.

peak 20052022

share of that year’s registrations in the city

Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023

See the full list for Mexico City →

England and Wales

1 in 98,000

In England and Wales, 6 boys named Lex were born in 2025, ranked 3,256th among boys that year.

1996peak 20172025

share of that year’s name registrations

Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales

See the full list for England and Wales →

Spain

1 in 2.2M

In Spain, 20 residents are named Lex, ranked 30,653rd among men, with a mean age of 15.6 years.

Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025

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Argentina

last on record 2022

Lex is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.

Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024

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Austria

last on record 2024

Lex is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.

Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)

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Brazil

At the 2022 census, 85 people in Brazil were named Lex, ranked 46,211th, with a median age of 23.
Among people named Lex living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2000s than in any other decade.

peak 2000s2000s

people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth

People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022

See the full list for Brazil →

Ireland

last on record 2018

Lex is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.

Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names

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Montevideo City

last on record 1989

Lex is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.

Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial

See the full list for Montevideo →

New Zealand

last on record 1955

Lex is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.

peak 19532025

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time

See the full list for New Zealand →

Scotland

last on record 2023

Lex is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.

Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names

See the full list for Scotland →

South Australia

last on record 2015

Lex is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.

Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names

See the full list for South Australia →

Not on the record in Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.

Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

Names that fit alongside Lex

Andy Alec Teddy Nick Steve Nicholas

Keep exploring

Short names

Name trails: explore connections from Lex →

The Lex deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Lex 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 Lex fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

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