Alex

Where Alex comes from

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.
— Wiktionary's entry for Alex
  • Ancient Greek
  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #92 among boys — 147 babies in the first year on record.
  2. 1941
    Alex Ferguson born
    Scottish association football manager and former player
  3. 1989
    Alex Morgan born
    American soccer player
  4. 1995
    Peak, #47
    7,424 babies named Alex — more than any year before or since.
  5. 2013
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #110.
In the dictionary
  • A unisex given name from Ancient Greek.
Namesakes
  • Alex Ferguson · Scottish association football manager and former player, born 1941
  • Alex Morgan · American soccer player, born 1989
  • Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain · English association football player, born 1993
  • Alex Iwobi · Nigerian association football player, born 1996
  • Alex Sandro · Brazilian footballer, born 1991

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.