Which to use
“Alex” and “Alexei” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,378
- “Alex” frequency rank
- #24,373
- “Alexei” frequency rank
- 26751
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Alex | Alexei |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A unisex given name from Ancient Greek. | A transliteration of the Russian male given name Алексе́й (Alekséj), equivalent to Alexius. |
Where the eye mixes Alex and Alexei
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Alex runs 4 letters (VCVC) against Alexei's 6 (VCVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Alex with Alexei
A purely visual mix-up. Alex (/ˈæ.lɪks/) and Alexei (/əˈlɛkseɪ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Alex” sits inside “Alexei”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26751, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Alex is recorded at frequency rank #2,378, classified as aname, pronounced /ˈæ.lɪks/. Alexei is at rank #24,373, tagged as aname, pronounced /əˈlɛkseɪ/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 26751, this pair ranks #384,341 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Alex vs Alexei
Shared letters: aelx. Private to "Alex": -. Private to "Alexei": i.
"Alex" · 4 letters · shape VCVC · "Alexei" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Alex" for "Alexei" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Alex" or "Alexei"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Alex" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Alexei" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #384,341 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Alex" and "Alexei" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Alexei vs Alexey". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #384,341 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.