Alexa
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "defender" or "helper".
Name Census estimates that about 128,800 living Americans carry the first name Alexa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Alexa today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alexa births was 2006 (6,125 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alexa. 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 Alexa with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Alexa is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 284 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
129K
~ 1 in 2,661 Americans
Peak year
2006
6,125 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2020 SSA rank
#806
Tracked since 1916
Census
Alexa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 115,939 people with the first name Alexa, which placed it at #486 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
#486
National first-name rank
People counted
116K
115,939 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
38.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
49.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alexa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alexa is White at 49.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (42.3%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Alexa 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 Alexa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White49.2% · 57,063
- Hispanic or Latino42.3% · 49,094
- Two or more races3.7% · 4,256
- Black or African American2.7% · 3,101
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 2,106
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 319
Gender
Gender distribution for Alexa
Out of the 131,588 babies given the name Alexa since 1880, 99.8% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Alexa as a male name
- Ranked #12,109 in 2020
- 5 male births in 2020
- Peak: 2004 (28 births)
Alexa as a female name
- Ranked #806 in 2024
- 348 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2006 (6,117 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Alexa appears almost entirely female. Of the 115,935 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Alexa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alexa from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 48,218 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Alexa 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 Alexa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Alexas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Alexa, while Vermont, Alaska, Wyoming recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 2,529 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Alexa
The name Alexa has its roots in the ancient Greek language. It is a feminine form of the masculine name Alexis, which is derived from the Greek word "alexo" meaning "to defend" or "to help". The name is believed to have originated sometime during the Classical period of ancient Greece, between the 5th and 4th centuries BC.
One of the earliest known references to the name Alexa can be found in Greek mythology. Alexa was the name of a Thessalian princess who was renowned for her beauty and virtue. She was said to have been courted by many suitors, but ultimately chose to remain unwed and devoted her life to the service of the goddess Artemis.
In the Middle Ages, the name Alexa gained popularity in various parts of Europe, particularly in regions with strong ties to the Byzantine Empire and the Eastern Orthodox Church. During this time, it was often associated with the concept of "defender" or "protector", reflecting the name's Greek origins.
The first recorded instance of the name Alexa dates back to the 12th century. One notable figure from this era was Alexa of Shaftesbury, an English abbess who lived from 1135 to 1187. She was known for her piety and her leadership of the Benedictine nunnery in Shaftesbury, Dorset.
In the Renaissance period, the name Alexa was embraced by humanist scholars and writers who were inspired by classical Greek culture. One such individual was Alexa Duglas (1555-1608), a Scottish poet and courtier who served as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Anne of Denmark.
Another notable figure was Alexa Wilding (1610-1662), an English actress and playwright who was celebrated for her performances in the theater companies of London during the reign of King Charles I.
In more recent history, Alexa Kenin (1904-1986) was a renowned American sculptor and artist who was known for her innovative use of materials and her contributions to the Modernist movement.
Alexa Grasso (born 1993) is a Mexican mixed martial artist who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and has held titles in various weight classes.
These are just a few examples of the rich history and diverse individuals who have borne the name Alexa throughout the centuries, reflecting its enduring appeal and timeless resonance.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Alexa
People
Alexa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alexa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Alexa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alexa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 128,800 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alexa 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 2,661 US residents.
Is Alexa a common name?
We classify Alexa as "Common". It ranks above 99.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 131,588 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alexa most popular?
The single biggest year for Alexa was 2006, when 6,125 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alexa is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Alexa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 115,939 people with the name Alexa, or 38.39 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #486 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 Alexa 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 Alexa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Alexa appears almost entirely female. Of the 115,935 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Alexa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alexa is White at 49.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (42.3%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Alexa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Alexa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.2% (57,063 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 Alexa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Alexa a female name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Alexa 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 Alexa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Alexa 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 Alexa 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 have Alexa as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Alexa on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.