Alexis

Where the name comes from

• Ancient Greek
  Defender, helper
  Greek Alexis or Alexios, from the verb alexein, "to ward off, keep, protect"
  Alexis was first a man's name in ancient Greece. Its Latin form was Alexius. It comes from the same verb as the first part of Alexander. A popular reading, "defender of mankind," mixes it up with Alexander, which adds a word for "man." Alexis itself means simply "defender" or "helper."

Alexis across traditions

• Ancient Greek literature. Alexis was the name of a leading Athenian comic playwright who lived about 2,400 years ago. Only quoted fragments of his plays survive.
• Christian (Catholic and Orthodox). Saint Alexis, the "Man of God," was a beggar-saint whose legend was set about 1,600 years ago in Edessa and Rome. Scholars think he probably never existed. Still, his story was hugely popular in the Middle Ages, and it spread the name across Europe. A second, historical Saint Alexis led the Russian Orthodox Church in the 1300s.
• Byzantine Empire. Many Byzantine emperors were named Alexios. So were several emperors of Trebizond, a Greek empire on the Black Sea.
• Spanish and Latin American. The usual Spanish form is Alejo. Alexis itself is also widely used, often for boys. In Puerto Rico, Alexis was the 35th most common boys' name in 1999.
• French and Haitian. Alexis is also a family name, found mainly in France and Haiti. It comes from the personal name.
• American popular culture and naming. Alexis was mainly a man's name in history. In the US it is now mostly given to girls. TV viewers of the 1980s knew it from Alexis Carrington, the scheming businesswoman Joan Collins played on Dynasty (1981–89). US popularity: peaked in the 1990s, reaching #3 for girls in 1999 (SSA).

Who carried it

• Alexis of Thurii (About 2,400 years ago): Greek comic playwright and one of the leading writers of Athenian Middle Comedy.
• Saint Alexis (Alexius), the "Man of God" (Legend set about 1,600 years ago): Legendary beggar-saint whose story was one of the most popular of the Middle Ages.
• Alexios I Komnenos (Born 1048): Byzantine emperor in Constantinople.
• Saint Alexis of Moscow (About 1295–1378): Head of the Russian Orthodox Church from 1354 to 1378. He played a major role in governing Russia.

Forms in other languages

Alexius, Alexios, Alejo, Alessio, Aleksey, Aleksije, Alexie, Elek, Aleš

Alexis in letter-number systems

Hebrew, Greek and other traditions gave every letter a number, and read meaning into the totals. These are the counts, computed; the readings are inside the Innerverse.