# Alex (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/alex/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Greek |
| Meaning | “helping”, “defending” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈæl.ɪks/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Allex |
| US babies named this | 295,991 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 286,169 / 9,822 (3% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 36,106, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Clipping of Alexander, from Ancient Greek Ἀλέξανδρος (Aléxandros) 'he who wards off men', i.e. protector, possibly of Hittite origin. Also from Alexius, from the same Ancient Greek first element, "helping, defending". These two origins of Alex are indistinguishable in most languages. The female name has the same root, a clipping of Alexandra or the female name Alexis, in some cases also a spelling variant of Alix.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 168 | 1,370 |
| 2012 | 132 | 1,629 |
| 2013 | 146 | 1,511 |
| 2014 | 160 | 1,422 |
| 2015 | 187 | 1,287 |
| 2016 | 177 | 1,338 |
| 2017 | 189 | 1,251 |
| 2018 | 171 | 1,325 |
| 2019 | 151 | 1,460 |
| 2020 | 171 | 1,294 |
| 2021 | 130 | 1,613 |
| 2022 | 148 | 1,478 |
| 2023 | 100 | 1,966 |
| 2024 | 88 | 2,151 |
| 2025 | 71 | 2,487 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 4,041 | 95 |
| 2012 | 3,870 | 98 |
| 2013 | 3,559 | 110 |
| 2014 | 3,192 | 128 |
| 2015 | 3,113 | 134 |
| 2016 | 2,855 | 146 |
| 2017 | 2,606 | 151 |
| 2018 | 2,526 | 153 |
| 2019 | 2,401 | 165 |
| 2020 | 2,122 | 183 |
| 2021 | 1,969 | 192 |
| 2022 | 2,006 | 190 |
| 2023 | 1,814 | 203 |
| 2024 | 1,728 | 205 |
| 2025 | 1,515 | 232 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 61 | 652 |
| 2012 | 40 | 916 |
| 2013 | 42 | 882 |
| 2014 | 29 | 1,177 |
| 2015 | 28 | 1,204 |
| 2016 | 23 | 1,416 |
| 2017 | 23 | 1,411 |
| 2018 | 19 | 1,586 |
| 2019 | 22 | 1,389 |
| 2020 | 19 | 1,556 |
| 2021 | 15 | 1,866 |
| 2022 | 12 | 2,178 |
| 2023 | 10 | 2,504 |
| 2024 | 12 | 2,253 |
| 2025 | 10 | 2,605 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 1,129 | 59 |
| 2012 | 1,064 | 65 |
| 2013 | 986 | 65 |
| 2014 | 903 | 75 |
| 2015 | 900 | 75 |
| 2016 | 813 | 84 |
| 2017 | 716 | 92 |
| 2018 | 696 | 91 |
| 2019 | 594 | 106 |
| 2020 | 560 | 108 |
| 2021 | 474 | 122 |
| 2022 | 394 | 139 |
| 2023 | 346 | 152 |
| 2024 | 295 | 171 |
| 2025 | 243 | 207 |

## People named Alex

- Alex Morgan, American soccer player
- Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, English association football player (born 1993)
- Alex Sandro, Brazilian footballer (born 1991)
- Alex Jones, American far-right conspiracy theorist (born 1974)
- Alex Rodrigo Dias da Costa, Brazilian footballer
- Alex Brosque, Australian soccer player
- Alex Telles, Brazilian association football player
- Alex Rocco, American actor (1936–2015)
- Alex de Minaur, Australian tennis player
- Alex D. Linz, American actor
- Alex Honnold, American professional mountaineer and extreme climber
- Alex Hirsch, American voice actor, animator, writer, storyboard artist, and producer

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.