If you’re looking for a bold, gender-neutral baby name for your girl, consider Alex. Generally short for Alexandra, which is itself a feminine form of the Greek “Alexander,” the name means “defender of men.” On its own “Alex” may be diminutive, but considering the meaning, it doesn’t get much stronger than that!
Related girl names include Alexandra (with variations including Alessandra and Alejandra), Alexandria, Alexis, Alexia, and Alexa, among others.
Alex may be more commonly thought of as a name for boys, but Alex has actually been used as a girl’s name since the early 13th century in Britain. In modern times, it didn’t crack the Social Security Top 1000 baby names list for girls until 1987. It reached peak popularity in 1995, when it reached a high of number 540, but it dropped to 982 by the year 2004 and fell out of the Top 1000 after that.
Famous women named Alex include English television actress Alex Kingston, ‘Family Guy’ actress Alex Borstein, and American professional soccer player Alex Morgan. Famous fictional women with the name Alex include Alex Russo from ‘Wizards of Waverly Place’ (portrayed by Selena Gomez), Alex Dunphy of ‘Modern Family,’ and Alex Vause of ‘Orange Is the New Black.’
Meanings
Greek Baby Names Meaning:
In Greek Baby Names the meaning of the name Alex is: A feminine form of Alexander meaning defender of men, used in Britain since early 13th century. British King Edward VII's wife Princess Alexandra of Denmark.
American Baby Names Meaning:
In American Baby Names the meaning of the name Alex is: A feminine form of Alexander meaning defender of men, used in Britain since early 13th century. British King Edward VII's wife Princess Alexandra of Denmark.