Boy · English short form of a Greek name
Alex
Say it: AL-eks
Meaning
A short form of Alexander, from Greek alexein 'to defend' and aner 'man'.
Certainscholars agree on this meaning.
Used as a full name in the US since the 1800s.
Its wave through time
Most used in the 1990s
In the United States
- 286,304 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 1995, about 1 in 256 boys
- 2,264 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
| Spanish | Alejandro |
|---|
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- National census records of the 19th and 20th centuries
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.