Alexis is a Greek name that means "defender" or "helper", from alexein, to ward off; it was a male name through most of history, borne by a Byzantine emperor and a Russian tsar. In America it became a girls' name in the 1980s, but among Spanish-speaking and French families it remains firmly masculine. For boys, Alexis peaked at number 103 in 2004 and has slipped since, from number 344 in 2015 to number 513 in 2025.