Given name · Bulgarian · Russian
Алексей
“to ward off; to protect”
Алексей (Alekséj) is a masculine given name from Ancient Greek. It is used in Russian.
Bulgarian and RussianWritten in Cyrillic script. In English: Alex.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Алексей goes back to Ancient Greek Ἀλεξίας, meaning “to ward off; to protect.”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
In Russian usage, Алексей developed from Ἀλέξιος.
Алексей’s family of names
In Russian usage, Алексей has a diminutive in Алёша. In Russian usage, Алексей shares a linguistic root with the English form Alexius. In Russian usage, Алексей has a conventional equivalent in the French form Alexis.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Алексей has relatives in 29 languages. Lines run from its Ancient Greek roots to each of them.
Ancient Greekwhere Алексей comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 30
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- AlexCzech, Dutch
- AlexisFrench, German
- AlessioItalian
- AlexeiRomanian, German
- AlejoSpanish
- AlekseyTurkish, Portuguese
- AlexeyEnglish
- AleksPolish
Show 22 moreShow fewer
- AleksejSlovene, Esperanto
- AleksiFinnish
- ElekHungarian
- AleksyPolish
- Alexiuscognate · Latin, German
- AleixCatalan
- Oleksaequivalent
- Олексаequivalent
- Aleksijequivalent
- AleixoPortuguese, Galician
- AlexeïFrench
- AlexejCzech, Swedish
- Oleksiiequivalent
- Aleksasequivalent
- Алексе́йhas masculine form
- AleksioEsperanto
- ОлексійUkrainian
- ΑλέξιοςGreek
- АляксейBelarusian
- AleksiejPolish
- Ἀλέξιοςroot · Ancient Greek
- AlešCzech
See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Алексей
- Maxim GorkyRussian and Soviet writer (1868–1936)
- Alexei NavalnyRussian jurist and opposition leader (1976-2024)
- Alexei LeonovSoviet-Russian pilot and cosmonaut, first human to conduct a spacewalk (1934–2019)
- Alexei AbrikosovSoviet, Russian and American theoretical physicist1928–2017
- Aleksey Nikolayevich TolstoyRussian-Soviet writer (1883-1945)
- Alexis of RussiaTsar of Russia (1645–1676)1629–1676
- Alexei KosyginSoviet statesman, public officer, cabinet officer1904–1980
- Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoycount, Russian poet, novelist and playwright1817–1875
- Aleksei BrusilovRussian and Soviet military commander1853–1926
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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