THE MEANING & THE CONTEXT
The story behind Alex
Alex is explicitly recorded as a given name in Wikidata for Philippine citizens including Alex Niño, Alex Pagulayan. This snapshot links the name to 17 distinct Wikidata person records. The count describes Wikidata coverage, not the Philippine population or annual births.
The etymology is not settled. The explanation above keeps the source’s uncertainty rather than assigning a definite meaning.
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
English
- /ˈæl.ɪks/Received-Pronunciation
- /ˈæl.ɪks/Australia · Canada · General-American
- /ˈæl.əks/Australia · Canada · General-American
Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
EnglishEtymology & source
Clipping of Alexander, from Ancient Greek Ἀλέξανδρος (Aléxandros) 'he who wards off men', i.e. protector, possibly of Hittite origin. Also from Alexius, from the same Ancient Greek first element, "helping, defending". These two origins of Alex are indistinguishable in most languages. The female name has the same root, a clipping of Alexandra or the female name Alexis, in some cases also a spelling variant of Alix.
A unisex given name from Ancient Greek.
EnglishEtymology & source
From Middle English Alexander, Alexandre, from Latin Alexander, from Ancient Greek Ἀλέξανδρος (Aléxandros), from ἀλέξω (aléxō, “to defend”) + ἀνδρ- (andr-), the stem of ἀνήρ (anḗr, “man”). Doublet of Alastair, Alejandro, Iskandar, Sikandar, Alessandro, and Alexandre.
A male given name from Ancient Greek, most famously held by Alexander the Great.
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
People with the name Alex
Public figures and other documented namesakes linked by an explicit given-name claim. This is a selection of records, not a popularity ranking.
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Alex Niño
Filipino artist
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Alex Pagulayan
Filipino pool player
The record establishes the name association, not the person’s intended meaning, pronunciation or ancestry. Descriptions are attributed to Wikidata contributors (CC0).
Use in Philippine-linked records
Public-record transcription
35
eligible source records · 2001
This spelling is reported in an openly licensed transcription of elected-candidate records. This is a record count, not a birth count or national popularity measure.
OpenHalalan / COMELEC ↗Wikidata
17
distinct person records with an explicit given-name claim
Community-edited coverage, not a census or birth registry. Examples: Alex Niño, Alex Pagulayan
PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Alex in the birth records
Exact spelling, stated year, published top-ten tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Available publications: 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. No 2021 count is inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Similar names to Alex
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Álex♂Name formation documented in dictionary sources
- Alexa♀Etymology uncertain; see source accounts
- Alix·Name formation documented in dictionary sources
- Lex♂♀Name formation documented in dictionary sources
- Al♂Name formation documented in dictionary sources
- Alah·Recorded Philippine given-name form
- Alan♂Etymology uncertain; see source accounts
- Alden♂Name formation documented in dictionary sources
What rhymes with Alex?
Matches share a dictionary-supplied rhyme key in the stated language. Check the recorded reading; another language or accent can change the rhyme.
Names with a similar written ending
Spelling suggestions; these are not verified phonetic rhymes.
Recorded combinations with Alex
2 source-reported compound forms include this name as a component. Each part keeps its own history.
Names in this collection
Explore combinations →Explore Alex further
Follow the sources
- OpenHalalan — pinned 2001 COMELEC transcription (opens in a new tab)
Source-reported given-name form in a row with a separate explicit middle initial; ODbL-1.0.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- Wikidata given-name item Q13258171 — Alex (opens in a new tab)
Given-name identity, native labels, language associations and explicit class where present; not lexical meaning or population frequency.
- Wikidata — Alex Niño (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q13258171 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wikidata — Alex Pagulayan (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q13258171 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wiktionary contributors — Alex (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Wiktionary contributors — Alex (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.