Alexey


Alexey, Alexei, Alexie, or Aleksey is a Russian and Bulgarian male first name deriving from the Greek Aléxios, meaning "Defender", and thus of the same origin as the Latin Alexius.
Alexey may also be romanized as Aleksei, Aleksey, Alexej, Aleksej, etc. It has been commonly westernized as Alexis.
Similar Ukrainian and Belarusian name is romanized as Oleksii and Aliaksiej, respectively.
The Russian Orthodox Church uses the Old Church Slavonic version, Alexiy, for its Saints and hierarchs.
The common hypocoristic is Alyosha or simply Lyosha. These may be further transformed into Alyoshka, Alyoshenka, Lyoshka, Lyoha, Lyoshenka, sometimes rendered as Alesha/Aleshenka in English. The form Alyosha may be used as a full first name in Bulgaria and Armenia.
In theory, Alexia is the female form. It is however virtually nonexistent in Russian-speaking countries. A popular Ukrainian and Belarusian female name Olesia/Olesya/Alesia/Alesya is one possible form.
The patronymics based on Alexey are Alexeyevich and Alexeev and Alexeyevna and Alexeeva.
The following surnames derive from Alexey and its various forms:
Alexeyevka is a common Russian village name.

Persons known by first name Alexey