Head to head · Boys' names
Alex vs Justin
#232 vs #233 in 2025 · both stepping back from its peak
Alex is a whisker ahead (#232 vs #233 in 2025) and both are stepping back from its peak. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
The tape is even: Alex and Justin each lead 2 measures of 6.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Alex #101, Justin #714 — Alex higher
- 1890s: Alex #117, Justin #644 — Alex higher
- 1900s: Alex #126, Justin #666 — Alex higher
- 1910s: Alex #131, Justin #537 — Alex higher
- 1920s: Alex #164, Justin #544 — Alex higher
- 1930s: Alex #199, Justin #671 — Alex higher
- 1940s: Alex #222, Justin #582 — Alex higher
- 1950s: Alex #252, Justin #503 — Alex higher
- 1960s: Alex #213, Justin #319 — Alex higher
- 1970s: Alex #175, Justin #55 — Justin higher
- 1980s: Alex #99, Justin #12 — Justin higher
- 1990s: Alex #55, Justin #18 — Justin higher
- 2000s: Alex #69, Justin #34 — Justin higher
- 2010s: Alex #127, Justin #101 — Justin higher
- 2020s: Alex #201, Justin #190 — Justin higher
Alex stood higher in 9 of 15 decades; Justin has held the lead since the 1970s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Alex | Justin |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #101 | #714 |
| 1890s | #117 | #644 |
| 1900s | #126 | #666 |
| 1910s | #131 | #537 |
| 1920s | #164 | #544 |
| 1930s | #199 | #671 |
| 1940s | #222 | #582 |
| 1950s | #252 | #503 |
| 1960s | #213 | #319 |
| 1970s | #175 | #55 |
| 1980s | #99 | #12 |
| 1990s | #55 | #18 |
| 2000s | #69 | #34 |
| 2010s | #127 | #101 |
| 2020s | #201 | #190 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Alex
defender of men
From the Greek Alexandros, joining alexein, to defend or ward off, with the stem andr-, man. The sense is protective rather than martial.
Alexandros → Alexander → Alex
How it traveled
Alexandros is one of the oldest names still in ordinary use: it appears in the Iliad as a second name for Paris of Troy, long before Alexander of Macedon made it famous across three continents in the fourth century BC. His conquests carried it east, where it survives in Persian and Urdu as Sikandar; the church carried it west, through saints, popes and later the tsars of Russia.
Justin
just, fair, upright
From the Latin justus, with the ending that Latin used to make an affectionate or smaller form. The meaning has never been in doubt and has never drifted.
justus → Justinus → Justin
How it traveled
The name's first famous holder is Justin Martyr, a philosopher from Samaria who read his way through the Stoics and the Platonists, converted, and then went on wearing the philosopher's cloak for the rest of his life, on the grounds that he had not stopped being one. He argued for Christianity in the language of Greek philosophy rather than against it, and was executed in Rome for refusing to sacrifice.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Alex
AL-iks
One settled pronunciation in English, stress on the first syllable. Spelled correctly on first hearing in most languages that use the Latin alphabet.
- Al — Informal and older-fashioned; also stands alone as a given name.
- Lex — Informal; used independently as a given name as well.
- Alexander — Not a nickname but the long form many people will assume lies behind Alex, and will sometimes use in formal settings.
- Ally — Informal, more often heard for girls named Alex.
- Also Sasha.
Justin
JUS-tin
Two syllables with the weight at the front. French says zhoos-TAN, back-weighted and nasal, and Spanish hoos-TEEN.
- Jus — Cut to one syllable; used among friends and on teams, rarely written.
- Justy — A childhood form, generally left behind before adulthood.
- JT — Initials used as a name where the surname supplies the second letter; common in America.
Who has carried each name
Alex
Alex Ferguson (b. 1941) — Soccer's most decorated manager
Justin
Justin Bieber (b. 1994) — YouTube discovery turned global pop superstar
Justin Timberlake (b. 1981) — NSYNC star turned solo hitmaker and actor
Justin Trudeau (b. 1971) — Prime minister of Canada for a decade
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Alex if you want…
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Al, Lex and Alexander
Choose Justin if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsJustin is stepping back from its peak
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Alex
Strengths
- Already the short form, so there is nothing left to shorten against your wishes — the everyday name and the legal name can be the same.
- Spelled and said correctly on first contact across English, Spanish, Portuguese and German, which matters in a family with more than one language.
- An unbroken written record from Homeric Greek through the tsars to the present, so it has never had to be revived.
To consider
- Alex arrives at boys through Alexander and at girls through Alexandra, Alexandria and Alexis, so on paper it signals no gender. Some families like that; others find the emails addressed to the wrong person tiresome.
- Many people will assume Alex is short for Alexander and lengthen it unasked — on forms, at doctors' offices, in introductions. Expect to correct it now and then if the full name is not what you chose.
- It is a name still strongly represented among adults now in their thirties, which means plenty of grown Alexes in the workplace and few in the kindergarten room.
Justin
Strengths
- Everyone can spell it and say it on first hearing, in almost any European language.
- The meaning is plain, positive and needs no explaining.
- It has forms in French, Spanish, Italian, Polish and Russian, so it travels without becoming strange.
To consider
- It is one of the defining names of its generation and will place a person in time for anyone who hears it.
- Several very famous men share it, and the associations arrive whether or not they are wanted.
- The spelling is recorded for a small number of girls, though it reads overwhelmingly as a boy's name.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Alex and Justin in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Alex and Justin?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap
More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Alex and Justin — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Alex or Justin — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Alex or Justin?
- Alex, in 2025: Alex ranked #232 with 1,515 babies; Justin ranked #233 with 1,512 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Alex or Justin?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Alex moved down 49 places; Justin moved down 68 places.
- Which is the older name, Alex or Justin?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Alex and Justin?
- About 245,000 people named Alex are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 753,000 people named Justin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Alexs or Justins in the classroom?
- Alex will almost certainly be the only one in school. Justin will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Alex, Justin and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap