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Alexis

Girl name · 968 babies recorded · 1974–2025

Alexis: 968 babies born in Scotland since 1974, given to girls, peaking at 54 births in 2012.

The name Alexis is Greek in origin, ultimately from *alexein* meaning “to defend” or “to help”, giving the sense of a “defender” or “helper”. It was originally a male name in ancient Greece—the philosopher Alexis of Thurii was a comic poet in the 4th century BC—before being revived in the English-speaking world as a mostly feminine name in the 20th century. Famous bearers include the French-American author and journalist Alexis de Tocqueville, who wrote *Democracy in America*, and the Russian Tsar Alexis I, father of Peter the Great. In Scotland, the name has a modern place connection via the River Alexis, a minor waterway in Fife, though its etymological root also appears in the name of the town of Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire, which shares the *alexein* root. A notable variant is the Russian diminutive Alyosha, famously associated with Dostoevsky’s gentle character in *The Brothers Karamazov*.