The Names That Have Been Affected
Alexander: a name for the ages…
The name “Alexa” is derived from “Alexander”, a name dating back thousands of years to the historical figure, Alexander the Great. There have been many other famous people throughout history named Alexander, including a saint and a pope. Although it’s been in use to some degree ever since, the name had been steadily climbing in popularity in the US for the past 60 years, ranking as the 44th most popular baby name of the past 100 years. Many of the names that were derived from Alexander, such as Alexa and Alexis, have also become popular, especially in the last 40 years.
As a result, there are now many people (across many countries) with the name Alexa, or one that’s similar. The degree of impact that Amazon’s virtual assistant is having on them varies; some contend with their name frequently triggering devices when someone speaks to or about them, others have that issue, but also deal with dehumanizing commands and comments from people who now associate the name with giving orders to a virtual assistant.
Below: some of the names most affected, and the number of people in the US who have them. Data is from the Social Security Administration’s website, and include names that are homonyms, where applicable.
“The Big Three” names: Alexa, Alexis, and Alexia
Alexa
I30,000+
1990 - 1999 - Alexa was listed as the 109th most popular name in the US, with more than 30,000 babies registered as Alexa.
2000 - 2009 - Alexa was listed as the 54th most popular name in the US, with more than 48,000 babies registered as Alexa.
2010 - 2018 - Alexa was listed as the 49th most popular name in the US, with almost 40,000 babies registered as Alexa.
Alexis
450,000
The name Alexis ranks as one of the top 100 girl’s names in the US in the last 100 years. In addition to it being close enough to “Alexa” to frequently trigger Amazon’s AI, many people have trouble discerning between the two names, so those named Alexis will often get the same types of dehumanizing commands and comments that Alexas get. There are several variations in spelling of the name with the most common being Alexus and Alexys, and there are also more than 64,000 boys and men who are named Alexis.
Alexia
48,000
The name Alexia’s similarity to Alexa means that it will regularly trigger Amazon’s virtual assistant. Many people also hear it and see it as “Alexa”, so girls and women named Alexia often are subjected to the same voice assistant orders and requests as people named Alexa.
Other Names: Alex, Alexander, Alyssa, Alexandra, and Alexandria
Alex
260,000
The actual number of people going by the name Alex is probably much higher than 260K because it’s often used as a nickname for some very popular names like Alexander and Alexandra. The name regularly activates devices with Amazon’s AI which are using the the “Alexa” wake word.
Alexander
680,000
The name Alexander has been around for thousands of years, throughout many cultures and countries. Both the name Alexander, and its most popular nickname Alex, will regularly trigger an Amazon virtual assistant that’s using the “Alexa” wake word.
Alexandra
240,000+
The name Alexandra can trigger devices with Amazon’s virtual assistant that are using the “Alexa” wake word. The name Alexa is one of a handful of nicknames commonly use by people named Alexandra. It’s impossible to know exactly how many girls and women whose legal name is Alexandra were going by “Alexa” when Amazon released their AI, but a conservative estimate of one sixth would come to 40,000 more Alexas.
Alexandria
110,000+
Same as with Alexandra, the name Alexa is sometimes used as a nickname by people named Alexandria. The name also can activate Amazon’s virtual assistant on its own.
Alyssa
345,000
The name Alyssa (also spelled Alissa), regularly sets off Amazon’s virtual assistant devices. In some articles discussing the AI, the reason for Amazon’s choice of Alexa that’s often cited is that the “x” sound in the name makes it especially good for preventing accidental activation of the devices. However, based on the frequent reports of people named Alyssa triggering them, it’s clear that this isn’t true.
Even more names: Alexi, Alexei, etc.
Next: “Alexa Everywhere”