Elexis
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "helper" or "defender".
Name Census estimates that about 2,748 living Americans carry the first name Elexis. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Elexis today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elexis births was 1996 (176 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elexis. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Elexis with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.7K
~ 1 in 124,729 Americans
Peak year
1996
176 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,920
Tracked since 1975
Census
Elexis in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,263 people with the first name Elexis, which placed it at #6,919 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#6,919
National first-name rank
People counted
2.3K
2,263 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
41.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Elexis
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Elexis is White at 41.8%. The next largest groups are Black (28.6%) and Hispanic (20.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Elexis described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Elexis at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White41.8% · 945
- Black or African American28.6% · 647
- Hispanic or Latino20.3% · 459
- Two or more races6.9% · 157
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 30
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 25
Popularity
Elexis: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Elexis from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 1,204 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Elexis by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Elexis during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Elexis' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 25 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Elexis, while Wisconsin, Minnesota, Maryland recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 52 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Elexis
The given name Elexis is believed to have its origins in Greek culture and language. It is a feminine form derived from the Greek word "alexo," which means "to defend" or "to protect." The name Elexis can be traced back to ancient Greek times, likely emerging during the classical period between the 5th and 4th centuries BC.
In ancient Greece, names were often chosen to reflect desired qualities or characteristics for the child. The name Elexis may have been bestowed upon girls with the hope that they would grow to be strong, courageous, and protective individuals. This name's connection to the concept of defense and protection suggests it may have been favored by families with a military or warrior background.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Elexis can be found in the works of the Greek historian and philosopher Plutarch, who lived in the late 1st century AD. In his writings, he mentions an Elexis of Corinth, though little else is known about this individual.
Throughout history, a few notable figures have borne the name Elexis. In the Byzantine Empire, there was an Elexis of Constantinople, who served as a court official during the reign of Emperor Justinian I in the 6th century AD. Another Elexis of note was a Greek noblewoman from the island of Crete, who played a role in the Cretan resistance against the Venetian occupation in the 17th century.
In more recent times, the name Elexis has been carried by individuals such as Elexis Sinclaire (1916-1998), an American actress and dancer who appeared in various Broadway productions and films in the mid-20th century. Additionally, Elexis Fryman (born 1978) is a contemporary American artist known for her mixed media works and installations.
Another notable Elexis was Elexis Baratier (1932-2018), a French artist and printmaker renowned for her etchings and engravings, which often depicted scenes from everyday life and nature. Her works are held in collections around the world, including the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
While the name Elexis has Greek roots, it has been adopted and used in various cultures and languages over the centuries, reflecting its enduring appeal and the diverse paths names can take as they travel through time and across borders.
People
Elexis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elexis as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Elexis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elexis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,748 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elexis going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 124,729 US residents.
Is Elexis a common name?
We classify Elexis as "Rare". It ranks above 94.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,817 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elexis most popular?
The single biggest year for Elexis was 1996, when 176 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elexis is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Elexis in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,263 people with the name Elexis, or 0.75 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,919 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Elexis in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Elexis?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Elexis leans strongly female. 2,202 people counted with this name were female (97.1%), compared with 65 male bearers (2.9%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Elexis?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Elexis is White at 41.8%. The next largest groups are Black (28.6%) and Hispanic (20.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Elexis most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Elexis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 41.8% (945 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Elexis in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Elexis a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Elexis in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Elexis still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Elexis in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Elexis can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Elexis?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.