Alexis is a given name of Greek origin. Like the name Alexander, Alexis derives from the Greek verb: ἀλέξειν, romanized: aléxein, lit. 'defend'.
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Pronunciation | /əˈlɛksɪs/ |
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Gender | Unisex (originally male) |
Language(s) | Greek |
Origin | |
Meaning | "helper, defender" |
Other names | |
See also | Alexius, Aleixo, Alexios, Alexey, Alexander, Alexandra, Alex, Lexi |
While the name is traditionally 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.[citation needed]
Masculine variants
edit- Aleksi, Aleksis (Finnish)
- Aleksis (Latvian)
- Alexis, Alex (Indonesian)
- 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 (Serbian), (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), Олекса (Oleksa) (Ukrainian)
Feminine variants
edit- Aleja (Spanish)
- Alesia (Albanian)
- Aleksa (Polish)
- Alexa (English, Indonesian)
- Alexia (English), (Galician), (German), (Greek), (Spanish), (French)
- Алекса (Aleksa, Alexa) (Russian)
- Aléxia (Portuguese)
- Alexina (English)
- Alexis (English)
- Elexis (English)
- Lexa (English)
- Lexia (English)
- Lexi (English)
- Lexie (English)
- Lexis (English)
- Lexus (English)
- Lexy (English)
People
edit- Alexis Agrafiotis (born 1970), German-Greek composer, conductor and pianist
- Alexis Akrithakis (1939–1994), Greek artist
- Alexis Alexandris (born 1968), Greek footballer
- Alexis Alexiou (born 1963), Greek footballer
- Alexis Alexopoulos (born 1971), Greek sprinter
- Alexis Alexoudis (born 1972), Greek footballer
- Alexis Apostolopoulos (born 1991), 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 Blokhina (born 2004), American tennis player
- Alexis Christoforous (born 1970), American WCBS-TV Wall Street reporter
- Alexis Damianos (1921–2006), Greek, film/theatre and television director
- Alexis Denisof (born 1966), American actor
- Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859), French political thinker and historian
- Alexis Dziena (born 1984), American actress
- Alexis Falekas (born 1976), Greek basketball player and coach
- Alexis Flores (born 1975) Honduran FBI's most wanted fugitive
- Alexis Flores Cucoch-Petraello (born 1980) Chilean footballer
- Alexis Galanos (1940–2019), Cypriot politician
- Alexis Gavrilopoulos (born 1981), Greek footballer
- Alexis Georgoulis (born 1974), Greek actor and politician
- Alexis Giraud-Teulon (1839–1916), French academic, lawyer and translator
- Alexis Gizaro Muvuni, DR Congo politician
- Alexis Hornbuckle (born 1985), American professional basketball player
- Alexis Izard (born 1992), French politician
- Alexis Jordan (born 1992), American singer
- Alexis Jordan (swimmer) (born 1988), Barbadian swimmer
- Alexis Joyce (born 1983), American sprinter
- 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), British blues musician
- Alexis Kyritsis (born 1982), Greek basketball player
- Alexis Lafrenière (born 2001), Canadian ice hockey player
- Alexis Laree (born 1979), stage name of wrestler and country singer Mickie James
- Alexis Lewis, American inventor
- Alexis Loizidis (born 1985), Greek footballer
- Alexis Louder, American actress
- Alexis Lykiard (born 1940), British writer of Greek heritage
- Alexis Marshall, American singer, the vocalist for Daughters
- Alexis Mac Allister (born 1998), Argentinian football player
- 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 Minatoya (born 1988), Japanese-Belgian basketball player
- Alexis Minotis (1900–1990), Greek theater actor and director
- Alexis Murphy, American murder victim
- Alexis Navalny (Alexei) (1976-2024), Russian opposition leader
- 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 Pinturault, French alpine skier and Olympic medalist
- 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 Shifflett (born 1996), American sitting volleyball player
- Alexis Skye (born 1974), American model
- Alexis Smith (1921–1993), Canadian-born American actress
- Alexis Smith (1949–2024), American artist
- Alexis Spyridonidis (born 1995), Greek basketball player
- Alexis Stamatis (born 1960), Greek novelist, playwright and poet
- Alexis Stenvall (1834–1872), Finnish author
- 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
Middle name
edit- Tonea Alexis Marshall (born 1998) , American hurdler
- Raúl Alexis Ortiz (born 1982), half of the Puerto Rican reggaeton duo Alexis & Fido
Fictional characters
edit- Alexis Colby, played by Joan Collins on the 1980s prime time soap opera Dynasty
- Alexis Kerib, in the anime series SSSS.Gridman
- Alexis Meade, played by Rebecca Romijn on the American television series Ugly Betty
- Alexis Castle, 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, in the Transformers Unicron Trilogy, voiced by Tabitha St. Germain
- Alexis Zorbas, the protagonist of Zorba the Greek
- Alexis Rose, played by Annie Murphy on the Canadian sitcom Schitt's Creek
- Alexis the Giraffe from Jim Henson's Animal Show, a female giraffe guest voiced by Karen Prell
See also
edit- Alexis (disambiguation), which includes people known by the mononym Alexis and people with the surname Alexis
- Aleksa (given name)
- Aleksej
- Alexey
Notes
edit- ^ 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
edit- Lansky, Bruce (2008). 5-Star Baby Name Advisor. Meadowbrook Press. ISBN 978-0-684-05784-2