Head to head · Boys' names
Alexis vs Corbin
#513 vs #512 in 2025
Corbin is a whisker ahead (#512 vs #513 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Corbin is stepping back from its peak, Alexis is holding its place on the charts. On momentum, Alexis has the edge.
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, Alexis leads 3 measures of 6; Corbin 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, Corbin — — Alexis higher
- 1890s: Alexis #1079, Corbin #983 — Corbin higher
- 1900s: Alexis #1345, Corbin #1058 — Corbin higher
- 1910s: Alexis #1785, Corbin #1830 — Alexis higher
- 1920s: Alexis #2306, Corbin #2242 — Corbin higher
- 1930s: Alexis #2435, Corbin #2363 — Corbin higher
- 1940s: Alexis #2036, Corbin #2078 — Alexis higher
- 1950s: Alexis #1370, Corbin #1938 — Alexis higher
- 1960s: Alexis #795, Corbin #1505 — Alexis higher
- 1970s: Alexis #591, Corbin #1047 — Alexis higher
- 1980s: Alexis #380, Corbin #969 — Alexis higher
- 1990s: Alexis #225, Corbin #393 — Alexis higher
- 2000s: Alexis #148, Corbin #282 — Alexis higher
- 2010s: Alexis #328, Corbin #238 — Corbin higher
- 2020s: Alexis #479, Corbin #430 — Corbin higher
Alexis stood higher in 9 of 15 decades; Corbin has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Alexis | Corbin |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #879 | — |
| 1890s | #1079 | #983 |
| 1900s | #1345 | #1058 |
| 1910s | #1785 | #1830 |
| 1920s | #2306 | #2242 |
| 1930s | #2435 | #2363 |
| 1940s | #2036 | #2078 |
| 1950s | #1370 | #1938 |
| 1960s | #795 | #1505 |
| 1970s | #591 | #1047 |
| 1980s | #380 | #969 |
| 1990s | #225 | #393 |
| 2000s | #148 | #282 |
| 2010s | #328 | #238 |
| 2020s | #479 | #430 |
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.
Corbin
raven, crow
From Old French corbin, a diminutive of corb 'raven', which comes from Latin corvus. As a medieval byname it pointed at dark hair or a dark complexion rather than at the bird itself.
corvus → corb → corbin → Corbin
How it traveled
The word behind Corbin is Latin corvus, 'raven', which became corb in Old French and picked up the affectionate ending -in. Medieval England and France both used it as a byname for dark-haired men, and from there it hardened into an inherited surname carried by families on either side of the Channel.
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.
Corbin
KOR-bin
Stress on the first syllable. The second is a light 'bin', not 'bine'. English speakers get it right on first sight, and the spelling gives no trouble in French or German either.
- Corb — The most direct clip, used informally among friends and family.
- Corby — Softer everyday form; also exists independently as an English surname and place name.
- Cor — A one-syllable household shortening, rarely used outside the family.
- Bin — Occasional playground shortening; worth knowing it exists before someone else finds it.
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 name with more sound in itAlexis runs 3 syllables, Corbin 2
Choose Corbin if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsCorbin is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesCorbin is 2 syllables to Alexis's 3
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.
Corbin
Strengths
- Reads and says itself: one obvious pronunciation from the spelling, and one obvious spelling from the sound — apart from the Corbyn and Korbin variants.
- On US records for well over a century, so it carries none of the strangeness of a recent invention.
- Fits the established surname-as-first-name pattern alongside Colton, Camden and Weston, without being one of the crowded ones.
To consider
- Corbyn, Korbin and Corben all circulate, so expect an occasional 'how do you spell that' even though the sound is unmistakable.
- Corbett, Colby and Corbin get mixed up by ear, especially over the phone or in a noisy room.
- The name has been stepping back from its high point, which means most people carrying it now are teenagers and young adults rather than babies — a slightly dated ring for a few years, then not.
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 Corbin 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 Corbin?
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 these names appear on
- Names with an X in them
- Greek names with ancient roots
- The names with the most spellings
- Names ending in -in
- all guides
Where Alexis and Corbin each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Alexis or Corbin — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Alexis or Corbin?
- Corbin, in 2025: Corbin ranked #512 with 586 babies; Alexis ranked #513 with 584 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Alexis or Corbin?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Alexis moved down 32 places; Corbin moved down 165 places.
- Which is the older name, Alexis or Corbin?
- Alexis entered the US charts in 1882; Corbin entered the US charts in 1891. On the American record, Alexis is the older name.
- How many people are named Alexis and Corbin?
- About 66,000 people named Alexis are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 40,000 people named Corbin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Alexiss or Corbins in the classroom?
- Alexis will almost certainly be the only one in school. Corbin 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 Alexis, Corbin 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