Head to head · Boys' names
Alexis vs Alonzo
#513 vs #511 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Alonzo is a whisker ahead (#511 vs #513 in 2025) and both are holding its place on the charts. 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
On the charts, Alonzo leads 3 measures of 6; Alexis leads 2.
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: Alexis #879, Alonzo #126 — Alonzo higher
- 1890s: Alexis #1079, Alonzo #173 — Alonzo higher
- 1900s: Alexis #1345, Alonzo #218 — Alonzo higher
- 1910s: Alexis #1785, Alonzo #295 — Alonzo higher
- 1920s: Alexis #2306, Alonzo #336 — Alonzo higher
- 1930s: Alexis #2435, Alonzo #353 — Alonzo higher
- 1940s: Alexis #2036, Alonzo #386 — Alonzo higher
- 1950s: Alexis #1370, Alonzo #363 — Alonzo higher
- 1960s: Alexis #795, Alonzo #373 — Alonzo higher
- 1970s: Alexis #591, Alonzo #428 — Alonzo higher
- 1980s: Alexis #380, Alonzo #457 — Alexis higher
- 1990s: Alexis #225, Alonzo #493 — Alexis higher
- 2000s: Alexis #148, Alonzo #552 — Alexis higher
- 2010s: Alexis #328, Alonzo #529 — Alexis higher
- 2020s: Alexis #479, Alonzo #504 — Alexis higher
Alonzo stood higher in 10 of 15 decades; Alexis has held the lead since the 1980s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Alexis | Alonzo |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #879 | #126 |
| 1890s | #1079 | #173 |
| 1900s | #1345 | #218 |
| 1910s | #1785 | #295 |
| 1920s | #2306 | #336 |
| 1930s | #2435 | #353 |
| 1940s | #2036 | #386 |
| 1950s | #1370 | #363 |
| 1960s | #795 | #373 |
| 1970s | #591 | #428 |
| 1980s | #380 | #457 |
| 1990s | #225 | #493 |
| 2000s | #148 | #552 |
| 2010s | #328 | #529 |
| 2020s | #479 | #504 |
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
Alexis
defender, helper
From the Greek verb alexein, to ward off or defend. The same verb sits at the front of Alexander, which pairs it with aner, 'man'.
Alexios → Alexius → Alexis
How it traveled
The name begins as Greek Alexios, latinized to Alexius and borne by several emperors of Byzantium, among them Alexios I Komnenos in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. The legend of Saint Alexius, the beggar who lived unrecognised beneath his family's staircase, spread the name across medieval Europe in sermons and vernacular poems.
Alonzo
From Germanic roots usually read as "noble and ready"
The second element, funs ("eager, ready"), is agreed on. The first is not: most read it as adal, "noble," giving "noble and ready"; others trace it to hadu or hild, both meaning "battle," which would make it something nearer "ready for battle." All three are genuine Germanic name-elements, and all three were in circulation among the Visigoths.
Adalfuns → Alfonso → Alonso → Alonzo
How it traveled
The name begins as a Germanic compound carried into Iberia by the Visigoths, and it stuck: Alfonso became one of the great royal names of medieval Spain and Portugal, worn by kings of Castile, León, Aragon and Asturias for centuries. Ordinary Spanish speech wore Alfonso down to Alonso, and Alonso is the form that spread widest — including to the hidalgo of La Mancha in Cervantes' novel.
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
Alexis
uh-LEK-sis
In French the stress moves to the end and the final s goes silent: uh-lek-SEE. Both are correct for their language, and families with French ties often keep the French sound.
- Alex — The default short form for both boys and girls, and long established as a given name in its own right.
- Lexi — Informal, used mostly for girls; also registered on its own as a given name.
- Lex — Short and unisex, used more often by and for older speakers and in surname-style address.
- Sasha — The Russian diminutive of Aleksei and Aleksandr; used in Slavic families and, in English, as an independent name.
- Also Al.
Alonzo
uh-LON-zoh
Stress on the middle syllable. Spanish speakers say ah-LON-so with a lighter first vowel and an s sound for the z; both are correct for their own language.
- Lonzo — The most common informal short form; also used on its own as a given name.
- Zo — Clipped to the last syllable, informal, common in sports and among friends.
- Lonnie — An older informal short form, and a standalone given name in its own right.
- Al — The plainest option, informal, shared with Albert, Alan and Alfred.
- Also Alo.
One short form, two names
- Alexis and Alonzo both shorten to Al.
Short forms as recorded on each name’s own page. This is here so it is a decision rather than a discovery.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Alexis if you want…
- a newer arrivalAlexis entered the US charts in 1882
Choose Alonzo if you want…
- a long American recordAlonzo was already in use when US records began in 1880
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
Alexis
Strengths
- Recognized spelling in English — people write it correctly on the first hearing, without a spelling-out.
- An unbroken record from Byzantine Greek through medieval Latin and French to modern English.
- Several settled short forms already in use: Alex, Lexi, Lex.
To consider
- In the United States this spelling is given almost equally to boys and girls, so a boy named Alexis will meet forms, teachers and strangers who assume otherwise. In France, Russia and much of southern Europe the assumption runs the other way.
- It sits inside a crowded family — Alexa, Alexia, Alexus, Alexandra, Alexander — and Alexis is sometimes heard or written as one of those. The short form Alex belongs to all of them.
- Alexa is now also a household voice assistant, and the two names are near enough that the joke will occasionally surface, usually from adults rather than children.
Alonzo
Strengths
- A documented line running from Visigothic Iberia through the medieval Spanish and Portuguese kings to the present — few names have a record that clear.
- Sits comfortably in English and Spanish alike, with close relatives in Italian, Portuguese, French and German.
- Ready-made short forms already in real use: Lonzo, Zo, Lonnie, Al.
To consider
- Alonzo and Alonso are both established spellings, so expect a lifetime of gentle corrections — the z version will get written with an s and vice versa.
- It is strongly represented among older generations, which means most people who know an Alonzo know a grown man rather than a child. That fades as any name comes back around, but it is true right now.
- A child with this name will most likely be the only one wherever he goes. That is a real pleasure for some families and a small burden for others — being the only one means always being the one who explains.
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 Alexis and Alonzo 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 Alexis and Alonzo?
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.
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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 these names appear on
- Names with an X in them
- Greek names with ancient roots
- Victorian names ready for a second century
- Names with a Z in them
- all guides
Where Alexis and Alonzo each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Alexis or Alonzo — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Alexis or Alonzo?
- Alonzo, in 2025: Alonzo ranked #511 with 590 babies; Alexis ranked #513 with 584 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Alexis or Alonzo?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Alexis moved down 32 places; Alonzo moved down 34 places.
- Which is the older name, Alexis or Alonzo?
- Alexis entered the US charts in 1882; Alonzo was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Alonzo is the older name.
- How many people are named Alexis and Alonzo?
- About 66,000 people named Alexis are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 32,000 people named Alonzo are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Do Alexis and Alonzo share a nickname?
- Yes — both shorten to Al, so in a house with both names the short form would not say which child is meant.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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