Alexis is a given name derived from several saints venerated by the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, including Saint Alexius of Rome.
Like the name Alexander, Alexis derives from the Greek verb ἀλέξειν (aléxein; 'to ward off, avert, defend').
The ending "-is" points at its belonging to the masculine gender (according to Greek grammar); however, many American women are owners of this name, partly based on modern American tendency of giving girls male names.
The Russian equivalent of the name is Alexei, which has no female form.
However many European languages, including Greek, use the female variant Alexia.
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.
While the name is mostly 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.
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."
Lansky, p. 16 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.Helsingin Sanomat, October 16, 2007.Aino and Eetu top list of most popular children's names.
Retrieved February 10, 2008.
Alessia, an Italian feminine variant, was the second most common name for girls born in Italy in 2006.Rosenkrantz, Linda, and Satran, Pamela Redmond (2008).
Cool Names for Babies.
St. Martin's Griffin. , p. 21 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 (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
Aleja (Spanish)
Alesia (Albanian)
Aleksa (Polish)
Alexa (English)
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
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 Lafrenière (born 2001), Canadian ice hockey player
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 Louder, American actress
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 Murphy, Female American murder victim
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
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 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
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
Aleksej
Alexey
Notes
References
Lansky, Bruce (2008).
5-Star Baby Name Advisor.
Meadowbrook Press.
