Alexei
Masculine · “defender”
Alexei is given to both — 1,369 boys and 117 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Alexei is the Russian form of a Greek name about defending — the same root that gives Alexander its first half. It has been carried by tsars, saints and one of the great characters in Russian fiction.
How old is the name Alexei?
Alexei first appears in US birth records in 1961 — 64 years ago. The typical Alexei alive today was born around 2007, making them about 18 years old. About 1,300 people named Alexei are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Alexei most popular?
Alexei peaked in 2000, reaching #2087 nationally. Today it ranks #3240, 1,153 places below that high. See the whole 2000 chart.
Where it comes from
From Alexios to Alexei
The story of Alexei
Alexios was a Byzantine name borne by emperors and by a fifth-century saint whose story spread across the Christian world. Slavic languages took it with Orthodoxy, and Aleksei became one of the standard Russian men's names — carried by a tsar of the seventeenth century and by the last tsarevich. English-language records transliterate it in several ways: Alexei, Alexey, Aleksei and Alyosha, the last being the affectionate form rather than the name itself.
Meaning
defender
From Greek Alexios, built on a verb meaning to ward off or defend; the same element opens Alexander, where it is joined to a word for a man.
How the name formed
- Alexios
- Aleksei
- Alexei
Related forms: Алексей · Alexios · Alessio · Aleksy
Pronouncing Alexei
uh-lek-SAY
Three syllables with the stress at the end in Russian. English speakers often say uh-LEK-see.
Nicknames for Alexei
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1961
- Most boys named
- 200048 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2087reached in 2000
- Change vs 2024
- −23.4%36 in 2025, from 47
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Alexei in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Алексей in Russian — transliteration
- Alexios in Greek — same name
- Alessio in Italian — same name
- Aleksy in Polish — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Alexeis among us
people named Alexei are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 47,447 born in 2025 was named Alexei
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Alexei
- #3240
- Alexei on the 2025 chart
- #858
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Alexei went to 36 boys in 2025, but Aleksey, Aleksei and Alexey are the same name said out loud. Together the 4 spellings went to 70, which makes it the 858th most-given boys’ name of the year — 2,382 places above the chart.
About 1 boy in 24,401 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 47,447 for Alexei itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Antawn test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Alexei's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Antawn climbed just as high around 1981, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Antawn's path sketches the road Alexei is walking now.
Alexei sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Alexei is headed
Alexei should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Alexei beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Alexei in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled Greek meaning and a documented record reaching back to Byzantium.
- Alex is available immediately as a completely ordinary English short form.
- Widely recognized across Russia, Greece, Italy and eastern Europe.
- The stress falls at the end in Russian and in the middle in English, so two versions will follow him.
- Alexei, Alexey and Aleksei are the same name, and relatives may prefer different spellings.
- The Russian associations are strong and, for some Americans, political.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Alexei to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Alexei? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Alexei
Masculine · #3240 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Alexeis are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,300 people named Alexei are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Alexei?
- Alexei is the most-used spelling in US records — 36 of the 70 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Aleksey, Aleksei and Alexey.
- How popular is the name Alexei in 2025?
- Alexei ranks #3240 among US boy names in 2025, with 36 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Alexei?
- About 1 in every 47,447 US boys born in 2025 was named Alexei — 36 in all.
- Will my child share the name Alexei with classmates?
- Alexei will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Alexei
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Eugenio#3240 · Pace#3240 · Stoney#3240 · Dany#3240 · Rasheed#3240 · Abdirahman#3240 · Mykah#3240 · Lowell#3240
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Alexei? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Alexei and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle