ninan.org

Alex

Boys' name · Millennial-era

Living in the US
~254,500 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#232 among boys
Births in 2025
1,586 295,991 since 1880
Typical age
28 years, median

Alex popularity over time

Alex rank by birth year, 1880–2025Alex ranked #92 in 1880 and #232 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #47, in 1995.#100#232best #47 in 199518901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

The high point was 1993: 8,064 births recorded as Alex. The name is already in use in 1880, where the data begins. Across the record, 33 years put Alex in the top 100.

The 2025 position is #232, on 1,586 births. Over ten years the count has fallen 52%. Year on year the rank dropped by 27.

Babies named Alex per yearPeaks at 8,064 births in 1993.8,064 in 1993018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Alex?

An estimated 254,500 living Americans are called Alex. That is out of 295,991 recorded births since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Alex?

Median age among living Alexs: 28. Most living bearers were born in the 1990s. By the site’s era rules that makes Alex a millennial-era name.

Your Alex

Ages of living people named AlexHalf of living Alexs are older than 28 and half younger.median 28020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Alex is most common

The name is concentrated in Nevada, at 1.8× the national rate. California, Florida and District of Columbia follow.

Where Alex is used more than average5 states use the name Alex more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: 1.8× the national rateNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: 1.6× the national rateCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: 1.4× the national rateAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: 1.4× the national rateDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: 1.5× the national rateFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Alex is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Nevada 262 1.8×
California 4,106 1.6×
Florida 1,833 1.5×
District of Columbia 60 1.4×
Arizona 589 1.4×

Alex in England and Wales

ONS recorded 253 births named Alex in 2025, ranking it #207. That is 56% lower than five years earlier.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Alex comes from

A shortening of Alexander, from Ancient Greek Ἀλέξανδρος '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 a shortening of Alexandra or the female name Alexis, in some cases also a spelling variant of Alix.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Alex

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Alex Ferguson Scottish association football manager and former player 1941 113
Alex Morgan American soccer player 1989 60
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain English association football player 1993 57
Alex Iwobi Nigerian association football player 1996 52
Alex Sandro Brazilian footballer 1991 50
Alex Jones American far-right conspiracy theorist 1974 48
Alex Brosque Australian soccer player 1983 46
Alex Telles Brazilian association football player 1992 44
Photo credits (7)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 268 in 1911 to 482 in 1912 — 1.8 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Names similar to Alex

Matched by sound and spelling inside this dataset, then ordered by total recorded births. This is not a claim about shared etymology.

Same feel, less common

The same matches, limited to names given at most half as often as Alex was in 2025.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/alex.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).