2000
#121,780
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 131
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Alexion
Derived from the Greek name Alexios, meaning "defender" or "helper."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Alexion. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Alexion surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Alexion in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Alexion, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Black (2.6%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Alexion
The surname Alexion originates from Greece, with its earliest recorded use dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Greek word "alexios," meaning "defender" or "helper." This name is believed to have been adopted as a surname by families who lived in or near the region of Alexio, a village in the Peloponnese peninsula of southern Greece.
One of the earliest known references to the Alexion surname can be found in a collection of Greek ecclesiastical records from the late 16th century, where a priest named Nikolaos Alexion is mentioned as serving in the Metropolis of Monemvasia, a historic town in the Peloponnese region.
In the 17th century, the Alexion surname appears in various documents related to the Greek diaspora in Venice, Italy, where many Greek merchants and scholars had settled. One notable figure from this period was Ioannis Alexion, a scholar and translator who lived in Venice in the mid-1600s and contributed to the translation of ancient Greek texts into Latin.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Alexion surname became more widespread throughout Greece, particularly in the regions of the Peloponnese and the Ionian Islands. In 1821, a Greek revolutionary named Panagiotis Alexion played a significant role in the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire.
Another prominent figure with the Alexion surname was Georgios Alexion, a Greek politician and diplomat who lived from 1853 to 1932. He served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Greece and represented the country at various international conferences.
In the 20th century, the Alexion surname gained recognition in the field of medicine with the work of Dr. Constantinos Alexion (1892-1965), a Greek physician and researcher who made significant contributions to the study of infectious diseases and public health.
While the Alexion surname is primarily associated with Greece, it has also been found in other parts of the world, likely due to Greek migration and diaspora communities. However, its roots and earliest recorded instances can be traced back to the Greek-speaking regions of the Mediterranean, particularly the Peloponnese peninsula and the Ionian Islands.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alexion
Among Census respondents with the surname Alexion, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Black (2.6%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Alexion bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Alexion surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.6% · 103
- Black or African American2.6% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 3
- Two or more races2.6% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Alexion
Alexion appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#133,863
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 126
-5 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,083 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-11 bearers (-8.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,894 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #121,780 | 131 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #133,863 | 126 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-3.8%) | Down 12,083 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | -11 bearers (-8.7%) | Down 11,894 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Alexion surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #133,863 | #145,757 | -8.9% |
| Count | 126 | 115 | -8.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Alexion bearers went from 126 to 115 (-8.7% change). The surname moved down 11,894 positions in the national ranking, going from #133,863 to #145,757.
FAQ
Alexion surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Alexion?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Alexion. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Alexion?
Alexion ranks #145,757 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 115 people with the surname Alexion. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Alexion.
Has Alexion become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Alexion went from 126 recorded bearers to 115. That is a decrease of 11 (-8.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #133,863 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Alexion?
Among Census respondents with the surname Alexion, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Black (2.6%) and Hispanic (2.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Alexion in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.6% (103 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Alexion appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.6%), Black (2.6%), Hispanic (2.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Alexion (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Alexion mean?
Derived from the Greek name Alexios, meaning "defender" or "helper." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Alexion (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Alexion?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.