Lexis
A female name of Greek origin meaning 'word' or 'speech'.
Name Census estimates that about 3,282 living Americans carry the first name Lexis. It is a predominantly female name (98.7% of registrations). The average person named Lexis today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lexis births was 1998 (223 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lexis. 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 Lexis with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.3K
~ 1 in 104,435 Americans
Peak year
1998
223 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2012 SSA rank
#12,857
Tracked since 1982
Census
Lexis in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,308 people with the first name Lexis, which placed it at #5,250 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
#5,250
National first-name rank
People counted
3.3K
3,308 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
57.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lexis
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lexis is White at 57.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (20.6%) and Black (12.7%). 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 Lexis 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 Lexis at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White57.9% · 1,916
- Hispanic or Latino20.6% · 683
- Black or African American12.7% · 421
- Two or more races5.7% · 188
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 57
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 43
Gender
Gender distribution for Lexis
Lexis leans heavily female at 98.7% of total registrations, but 44 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Lexis as a male name
- Ranked #13,435 in 2012
- 5 male births in 2012
- Peak: 1995 (9 births)
Lexis as a female name
- Ranked #12,857 in 2024
- 7 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1998 (217 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lexis leans strongly female. 3,127 people counted with this name were female (94.4%), compared with 187 male bearers (5.6%).
Popularity
Lexis: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lexis from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 1,470 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
Lexis 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 Lexis during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lexis' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 32 states and territories. Texas, California, Ohio recorded the most babies named Lexis, while Virginia, Oregon, Maryland recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 55 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lexis
The name Lexis is of Greek origin and has its roots in the ancient Greek language. It derives from the word "lexis," which means "word" or "speech." This name is closely tied to the concepts of language, communication, and rhetoric in ancient Greek culture.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lexis can be found in the works of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. In his treatise "Poetics," Aristotle used the term "lexis" to refer to the specific words and phrasing used in literary works. This connection to the art of language and literature likely contributed to the adoption of Lexis as a personal name.
In ancient Greece, the name Lexis was associated with scholars, writers, and orators who valued the power of language and the ability to communicate effectively. It was a name that carried a certain level of prestige and intellectual authority.
One notable historical figure who bore the name Lexis was Lexis of Miletus, a Greek grammarian who lived in the 5th century BCE. He was known for his work on the Ionic dialect and his contributions to the study of language and grammar.
Another individual with the name Lexis was Lexis of Samos, a Greek orator and rhetorician who lived in the 4th century BCE. He was renowned for his skills in public speaking and his ability to persuade audiences through the use of language.
In the realm of literature, the name Lexis appeared in the works of the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus. In his tragedy "Agamemnon," one of the characters is referred to as Lexis, highlighting the significance of language and communication in the play.
Moving forward in history, the name Lexis was also used by Lexis of Caria, a Greek philosopher and mathematician who lived in the 2nd century BCE. He was known for his work on mathematics and his contributions to the field of geometry.
In more recent times, the name Lexis has been less common, but it has still been used by a few notable individuals. One example is Lexis Petit, a French painter and engraver who lived in the 19th century and was known for his landscapes and etchings.
While the name Lexis may not be as widely used today as it once was in ancient Greece, its connection to language, communication, and scholarly pursuits remains deeply rooted in its origins and historical significance.
People
Lexis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lexis as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lexis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lexis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,282 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lexis 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 104,435 US residents.
Is Lexis a common name?
We classify Lexis as "Rare". It ranks above 95.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,352 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lexis most popular?
The single biggest year for Lexis was 1998, when 223 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lexis is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lexis in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,308 people with the name Lexis, or 1.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,250 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 Lexis 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 Lexis?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lexis leans strongly female. 3,127 people counted with this name were female (94.4%), compared with 187 male bearers (5.6%). 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 Lexis?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lexis is White at 57.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (20.6%) and Black (12.7%). 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 Lexis most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Lexis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.9% (1,916 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 Lexis in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lexis a female name?
Yes, 98.7% of people registered as Lexis 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 Lexis still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lexis 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 Lexis 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 share the name Lexis?
Want to know how many Americans are named Lexis? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.