Axel
Axel was given to 4,140 boys in 2025, #79 among boys’ names; 72,668 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 70,800 Americans named Axel and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (98% of everyone recorded); the median is 9 years old and half are between 5 and 15.
Axel came back: it left the boys’ top 1,000 after 1916 and returned in 1989.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Axel by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Axel mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Axel is “a male given name from the Germanic languages in quiet use since the 19th century.”
From Danish Aksel, first used for the bishop and statesman Absalon Hvide (1128–1201), from biblical Absalom. Some sources suggest that the bishop was originally named Áskell, from Old Norse “god” + “cauldron, helmet”, and Absalon was chosen as the nearest-sounding Christian equivalent, leading to the exchange of the middle consonants.
/ˈæk.səl/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Axel?
#79 among boys’ names, 2025
Axel rose from #123 in 2015 to #79 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 1.7 to 2.4 per 1,000.
4,675 babies in 2020, the peak
Axel peaked in 2020, when 4,675 babies were given it (4,667 boys, #72 among boys’ names). The 4,148 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 89% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 4,140 | #79 | 2.4 |
| 2024 | 4,255 | #78 | 2.5 |
| 2023 | 4,523 | #71 | 2.6 |
| 2022 | 4,350 | #76 | 2.5 |
| 2021 | 4,540 | #76 | 2.6 |
| 2020 | 4,667 | #72 | 2.7 |
| 2019 | 4,505 | #84 | 2.5 |
| 2018 | 4,074 | #94 | 2.2 |
| 2017 | 3,789 | #104 | 2.0 |
| 2016 | 3,467 | #116 | 1.8 |
Every recorded year (142)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 3,249 | #123 | 1.7 |
| 2014 | 2,806 | #145 | 1.5 |
| 2013 | 2,428 | #168 | 1.3 |
| 2012 | 2,482 | #162 | 1.3 |
| 2011 | 3,036 | #137 | 1.6 |
| 2010 | 1,973 | #187 | 1.0 |
| 2009 | 1,319 | #264 | 0.66 |
| 2008 | 1,257 | #272 | 0.62 |
| 2007 | 1,196 | #288 | 0.58 |
| 2006 | 1,132 | #296 | 0.55 |
| 2005 | 1,047 | #314 | 0.52 |
| 2004 | 938 | #325 | 0.47 |
| 2003 | 809 | #346 | 0.41 |
| 2002 | 910 | #314 | 0.47 |
| 2001 | 1,274 | #258 | 0.66 |
| 2000 | 731 | #361 | 0.37 |
| 1999 | 191 | #797 | 0.10 |
| 1998 | 192 | #795 | 0.10 |
| 1997 | 171 | #837 | 0.09 |
| 1996 | 161 | #858 | 0.08 |
| 1995 | 145 | #914 | 0.08 |
| 1994 | 133 | #952 | 0.07 |
| 1993 | 124 | #962 | 0.06 |
| 1992 | 135 | #908 | 0.07 |
| 1991 | 151 | #842 | 0.07 |
| 1990 | 131 | #895 | 0.06 |
| 1989 | 115 | #948 | 0.06 |
| 1988 | 48 | #1,522 | 0.03 |
| 1987 | 49 | #1,467 | 0.03 |
| 1986 | 56 | #1,299 | 0.03 |
| 1985 | 36 | #1,698 | 0.02 |
| 1984 | 37 | #1,607 | 0.02 |
| 1983 | 29 | #1,864 | 0.02 |
| 1982 | 25 | #2,115 | 0.01 |
| 1981 | 25 | #2,090 | 0.01 |
| 1980 | 26 | #2,064 | 0.01 |
| 1979 | 29 | #1,871 | 0.02 |
| 1978 | 20 | #2,288 | 0.01 |
| 1977 | 24 | #2,009 | 0.01 |
| 1976 | 26 | #1,880 | 0.02 |
| 1975 | 17 | #2,454 | 0.01 |
| 1974 | 17 | #2,363 | 0.01 |
| 1973 | 20 | #2,045 | 0.01 |
| 1972 | 16 | #2,332 | 0.01 |
| 1971 | 19 | #2,132 | 0.01 |
| 1970 | 34 | #1,438 | 0.02 |
| 1969 | 31 | #1,442 | 0.02 |
| 1968 | 23 | #1,650 | 0.01 |
| 1967 | 12 | #2,361 | 0.01 |
| 1966 | 14 | #2,138 | 0.01 |
| 1965 | 15 | #2,094 | 0.01 |
| 1964 | 15 | #2,122 | 0.01 |
| 1963 | 13 | #2,308 | 0.01 |
| 1962 | 14 | #2,197 | 0.01 |
| 1961 | 18 | #1,956 | 0.01 |
| 1960 | 13 | #2,322 | 0.01 |
| 1959 | 19 | #1,867 | 0.01 |
| 1958 | 19 | #1,841 | 0.01 |
| 1956 | 9 | #2,807 | under 0.01 |
| 1955 | 6 | #3,531 | under 0.01 |
| 1952 | 11 | #2,385 | 0.01 |
| 1951 | 7 | #3,085 | under 0.01 |
| 1950 | 14 | #2,030 | 0.01 |
| 1949 | 9 | #2,622 | 0.01 |
| 1948 | 5 | #3,714 | under 0.01 |
| 1947 | 9 | #2,680 | under 0.01 |
| 1946 | 7 | #2,938 | under 0.01 |
| 1945 | 8 | #2,578 | 0.01 |
| 1944 | 8 | #2,644 | 0.01 |
| 1943 | 12 | #2,183 | 0.01 |
| 1942 | 9 | #2,543 | 0.01 |
| 1941 | 9 | #2,499 | 0.01 |
| 1940 | 5 | #3,482 | under 0.01 |
| 1939 | 8 | #2,621 | 0.01 |
| 1938 | 6 | #3,200 | 0.01 |
| 1937 | 8 | #2,693 | 0.01 |
| 1936 | 11 | #2,195 | 0.01 |
| 1935 | 15 | #1,843 | 0.01 |
| 1934 | 8 | #2,758 | 0.01 |
| 1932 | 10 | #2,475 | 0.01 |
| 1931 | 8 | #2,880 | 0.01 |
| 1930 | 15 | #1,970 | 0.01 |
| 1929 | 20 | #1,676 | 0.02 |
| 1928 | 6 | #3,734 | 0.01 |
| 1927 | 23 | #1,605 | 0.02 |
| 1926 | 13 | #2,311 | 0.01 |
| 1925 | 33 | #1,252 | 0.03 |
| 1924 | 22 | #1,680 | 0.02 |
| 1923 | 24 | #1,554 | 0.02 |
| 1922 | 23 | #1,594 | 0.02 |
| 1921 | 41 | #1,105 | 0.04 |
| 1920 | 27 | #1,422 | 0.03 |
| 1919 | 21 | #1,632 | 0.02 |
| 1918 | 40 | #1,080 | 0.04 |
| 1917 | 36 | #1,115 | 0.04 |
| 1916 | 49 | #895 | 0.06 |
| 1915 | 49 | #880 | 0.06 |
| 1914 | 25 | #1,157 | 0.04 |
| 1913 | 21 | #1,114 | 0.04 |
| 1912 | 27 | #857 | 0.06 |
| 1911 | 11 | #1,042 | 0.05 |
| 1910 | 12 | #934 | 0.06 |
| 1909 | 8 | #1,088 | 0.05 |
| 1908 | 6 | #1,229 | 0.04 |
| 1907 | 11 | #820 | 0.07 |
| 1906 | 12 | #711 | 0.09 |
| 1905 | 8 | #929 | 0.06 |
| 1904 | 6 | #1,073 | 0.05 |
| 1903 | 10 | #737 | 0.08 |
| 1902 | 8 | #867 | 0.07 |
| 1901 | 6 | #958 | 0.06 |
| 1900 | 11 | #787 | 0.07 |
| 1899 | 14 | #522 | 0.13 |
| 1898 | 20 | #453 | 0.16 |
| 1897 | 17 | #477 | 0.15 |
| 1896 | 15 | #536 | 0.13 |
| 1895 | 20 | #438 | 0.17 |
| 1894 | 10 | #676 | 0.09 |
| 1893 | 23 | #371 | 0.20 |
| 1892 | 13 | #572 | 0.11 |
| 1891 | 17 | #429 | 0.17 |
| 1890 | 16 | #462 | 0.14 |
| 1889 | 18 | #434 | 0.16 |
| 1888 | 16 | #484 | 0.13 |
| 1887 | 18 | #394 | 0.18 |
| 1886 | 25 | #337 | 0.23 |
| 1885 | 16 | #464 | 0.15 |
| 1884 | 16 | #470 | 0.14 |
| 1883 | 12 | #530 | 0.11 |
| 1882 | 12 | #540 | 0.11 |
| 1881 | 14 | #463 | 0.14 |
| 1880 | 16 | #442 | 0.14 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Axel a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Axel has been given almost only to boys: 209 girls in 142 years of records.
Girls and boys named Axel: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Axel, and how old are they?
70,800 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 98% of the 72,668 Americans ever recorded as Axel. The median Axel alive today is 9 years old; half are between 5 and 15.
The 2020 Census counted 42,999 people named Axel (256 women and girls, 42,743 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 45,813 born in the U.S. The Census count is 6% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 30 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 129 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 304 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,340 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 18,500 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 50,600 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Axel born?
The states with the most babies named Axel are Texas, California and Florida, with 33% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 597 | #57 | 1.5× |
| California | 531 | #70 | 1.3× |
| Florida | 238 | #89 | 0.8× |
| New York | 229 | #76 | 0.8× |
| North Carolina | 167 | #69 | 0.9× |
| Georgia | 135 | #82 | 0.9× |
| Illinois | 130 | #90 | 1.0× |
| Pennsylvania | 118 | #108 | 0.5× |
| Virginia | 112 | #77 | 0.8× |
| Tennessee | 111 | #74 | 0.8× |
Where Axel is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Axel is most over-represented in Texas: since 1910 it was given 1.5 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Axel with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 7 names spelled alike, given to 79,343 babies since 1880, Axel is the most given (92% of them). In 2025 it was given to 4,148 of their 4,484 babies (93%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Axel
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Axel and names like it
- Compare Axel and AxlBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2020sAxel peaked in 2020.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Axel since 1910.
- Germanic namesWiktionary’s origin for Axel: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2020The year the most babies were named Axel.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Axel alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with AMost given first.