Alexis (given name)
Alexis is a given name derived from several saints venerated by the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, including Saint Alexis of Rome. Alexis (compare the Greek verb ἀλέξω, aléxo) means "helper, defender". The ending "-is" points at its belonging to the masculine gender (according to Greek grammar); however, many American women are owners of this name, what is partly based on modern American tendency of giving girls male names. Russian version of this name is Alexey that is used only for men and has no female form. However, some European languages do have a female version, for example, in French, Alexia. It was also used as a name for several members of the ruling house of Russia, including Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, Tsarevich (heir apparent) Alexei Nikolaevich and Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich.
![]() The name Alexis has been used in large part due to Saint Alexius of Rome | |
Gender | Male |
---|---|
Language(s) | Greek |
Origin | |
Meaning | "helper, defender" |
Other names | |
See also | Alexander, Alexandra, Alex, Lexi, Alejandro, Alejandra, Alexius, Lex |
While the name is male, it has been predominantly given to females in the United States since at least the 1940s, when actress Alexis Smith began appearing in films.[1] It has been among the top 50 most popular names for girls in the United States since 1990. In the 2008 book 5-Star Baby Name Advisor, author Bruce Lansky writes that the girls' name has the image of a "sexy and seductive knockout."[2] The increase in popularity of the name is sometimes attributed to the notable character Alexis Colby from the American television series Dynasty. A 1978 film, Ice Castles, featured as the main character a blind figure skater named Alexis "Lexie" Winston.
Aleksi, a Finnish variant, was the third most popular name for boys born in Finland in 2007.[3] Alessia, an Italian feminine variant, was the second most common name for girls born in Italy in 2006.[4] Alesia, a feminine variant, and Aleksio, a masculine variant, are currently popular names for boys and girls in Albania.
Masculine variants
- Aleksi, Aleksis (Finnish)
- Aleksis (Latvian)
- Aleix (Catalan)
- Aleixo (Galician), (Portuguese)
- Alejo (Spanish)
- Алексей (Alexei, Alexey, Aleksei, Aleksey), Алексий (Alexiy), Алёша (Alyosha), Лёша (Lyosha) (Russian)
- Алекси, Aleksi (Bulgarian)
- ალექსი, Aleksi (Georgian)
- Aleks (Albanian)
- Aleksije, Aleksej (Serbo-Croatian)
- Aleksy (Polish)
- Aleš (Czech), (Slovene)
- Alessio (Italian)
- Alexis (Spanish), (English), (French)
- Αλέξιος (Alexios), Αλέξης (Alexis) (Greek)
- Alexius (Latin)
- Elek (Hungarian)
- Lex (English)
- Олексій (Oleksii, Oleksiy) (Ukrainian)
Feminine variants
- Aleja (Spanish)
- Alesia (Albanian)
- Alessia (Italian)
- Alexa (English)
- Alexia (English), (Galician), (German), (Greek), (Spanish), (French)
- Aléxia (Portuguese)
- Alexina (English)
- Alexis (English)
- Elexis (English)
- Lexa (English)
- Lexia (English)
- Lexi (English)
- Lexie (English)
- Lexis (English)
- Lexus (English)
- Lexy (English)
- Олекса (Oleksa) (Ukrainian)
People
- Alexis Alexiou (born 1963), Greek footballer
- Alexis Alexopoulos (born 1971), Greek sprinter
- Alexis Alexoudis (born 1972), Greek footballer
- Alexis Argüello (1952–2009), Nicaraguan boxer and politician
- Alexis Arquette (1969–2016), American transgender actress and musician, of the Arquette acting family
- Alexis Simon Belle (1674–1734), French portrait artist
- Alexis Bledel (born 1981), American actress
- Alexis Christoforous (born 1970), WCBS-TV Wall Street reporter
- Alexis Denisof (born 1966), actor
- Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859), French political thinker and historian
- Alexis Dziena (born 1984), actress
- Alexis Galanos (1940–2019), Cypriot politician
- Alexis Gavrilopoulos (born 1981), Greek footballer
- Alexis Georgoulis (born 1974), Greek actor
- Alexis Giraud-Teulon (1839–1916), French academic, lawyer and translator
- Alexis Jordan (born 1992), American singer
- Alexis Jordan (swimmer) (born 1988), Barbadian swimmer
- Alexis Kaufman (born 1991), birth name of American professional wrestler Alexa Bliss
- Alexis Kochan (born 1953), Ukrainian-Canadian musician and composer
- Alexis Korner (1928–1984), musician
- Alexis Laree (born 1979), stage name of former wrestler and country singer Mickie James
- Alexis Lewis, American inventor
- Alexis Loizidis (born 1985), Greek footballer
- Alexis Lykiard (born 1940), British writer of Greek heritage
- Alexis Marshall, musician from Providence, Rhode Island. Best known as the vocalist for Daughters.
- Alexis Mateo (born 1979), Puerto Rican drag queen
- Alexis Matias (born 1974), Puerto Rican volleyball player
- Alexis Méndez (born 1969), Venezuelan track and road cyclist
- Alexis Michelle (born 1984), American drag queen
- Alexis Minotis (1900–1990), Greek theater actor and director
- Alexis Ohanian (born 1983), American internet entrepreneur and investor
- Alexis Panselinos (born 1943), Greek novelist and translator
- Alexis Papahelas (born 1961), Greek investigative journalist and newspaper editor
- Alexis Ríos (born 1981), Puerto Rican baseball player
- Alexis Rojas (born 1972), Colombian road cyclist
- Alexis Rojas (footballer) (born 1996), Paraguayan footballer
- Alexei Romanov (disambiguation), various members of the Romanov family
- Alexis Ruano Delgado (born 1985), Spanish footballer
- Alexis Rykov (1891–1938), Leader of the Soviet Union from 1924 to 1930
- Alexis Sánchez (born 1988), Chilean footballer
- Alexis Sánchez (athlete) (born 1971), Spanish athlete
- Alexis Skye (born 1974), model
- Alexis Smith (1921–1993), actress
- Alexis Smith (born 1949), artist
- Alexis Suárez Martín (born 1974), Spanish footballer
- Alexis Texas (born 1985), American porn actress
- Alexis Tipton (born 1989), American voice actress
- Alexis Tsipras (born 1974), Greek politician
- Alexis Valido (born 1976), Spanish volleyball player
Fictional characters
- Alexis Colby, a character played by Joan Collins on the 1980s prime time soap opera Dynasty
- Alexis Kerib, a character in the anime series SSSS.Gridman
- Alexis Meade, a character played by Rebecca Romijn on the American television series Ugly Betty
- Alexis Castle, a character played by Molly Quinn on the American crime drama television series Castle
- Alexis Leonides, a Greek writer who features in Geoffrey Trease's novels The Hills of Varna and The Crown of Violet
- Alexis Rhodes, a main character in the anime series Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, voiced by Priscilla Everett and Emlyn Morinelli McFarland
- Alexis Thi Dang, a character in the Transformers Unicron Trilogy, voiced by Tabitha St. Germain
- Alexis Zorbas, the protagonist of Zorba the Greek
- Alexis Rose, a character played by Annie Murphy on the Canadian sitcom Schitt's Creek
See also
- Alexis (disambiguation), which includes people known by the mononym Alexis and people with the surname Alexis
Notes
- Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006). A Dictionary of First Names. Oxford paperback reference. Oxford University Press. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1. OCLC 67869278. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
- Lansky, p. 16
- Helsingin Sanomat, October 16, 2007.Aino and Eetu top list of most popular children's names. Retrieved February 10, 2008.
- Rosenkrantz, Linda, and Satran, Pamela Redmond (2008). Cool Names for Babies. St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 978-0-312-37786-1, p. 21
References
- Lansky, Bruce (2008). 5-Star Baby Name Advisor. Meadowbrook Press. ISBN 978-0-684-05784-2