Maxwell
Maxwell was given to 1,924 boys in 2025, #189 among boys’ names; 109,467 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 103,000 Americans named Maxwell and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (94% of everyone recorded); the median is 18 years old and half are between 11 and 27.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Maxwell by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Maxwell mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Maxwell is “a male given name transferred from the surname.” Its etymology gives the senses “Mack's well or spring” (meaning) and “well” (welle).
From an earlier form Mackeswell, meaning “Mack’s well or spring”, from Old English welle (“well”).
/ˈmækswɛl/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Maxwell?
#189 among boys’ names, 2025
Maxwell fell from #113 in 2015 to #189 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 1.9 to 1.1 per 1,000.
3,773 babies in 2014, the peak
Maxwell peaked in 2014, when 3,773 babies were given it (3,739 boys, #107 among boys’ names). The 1,939 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 51% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,924 | #189 | 1.1 |
| 2024 | 2,024 | #182 | 1.2 |
| 2023 | 1,992 | #182 | 1.2 |
| 2022 | 2,183 | #173 | 1.3 |
| 2021 | 2,380 | #162 | 1.4 |
| 2020 | 2,513 | #146 | 1.5 |
| 2019 | 2,637 | #147 | 1.5 |
| 2018 | 2,907 | #134 | 1.6 |
| 2017 | 3,081 | #133 | 1.7 |
| 2016 | 3,585 | #111 | 1.9 |
Every recorded year (145)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 3,553 | #113 | 1.9 |
| 2014 | 3,739 | #107 | 1.9 |
| 2013 | 3,643 | #108 | 1.9 |
| 2012 | 3,233 | #114 | 1.7 |
| 2011 | 3,056 | #133 | 1.6 |
| 2010 | 3,015 | #133 | 1.6 |
| 2009 | 3,080 | #132 | 1.6 |
| 2008 | 3,058 | #134 | 1.5 |
| 2007 | 2,713 | #153 | 1.3 |
| 2006 | 2,792 | #149 | 1.4 |
| 2005 | 2,810 | #140 | 1.4 |
| 2004 | 2,927 | #136 | 1.5 |
| 2003 | 3,086 | #132 | 1.6 |
| 2002 | 3,036 | #129 | 1.6 |
| 2001 | 3,183 | #124 | 1.6 |
| 2000 | 3,364 | #113 | 1.7 |
| 1999 | 3,338 | #106 | 1.7 |
| 1998 | 2,791 | #136 | 1.5 |
| 1997 | 2,317 | #148 | 1.2 |
| 1996 | 1,901 | #177 | 1.0 |
| 1995 | 1,838 | #178 | 1.0 |
| 1994 | 1,719 | #182 | 0.89 |
| 1993 | 1,781 | #182 | 0.91 |
| 1992 | 1,876 | #171 | 0.94 |
| 1991 | 1,724 | #188 | 0.85 |
| 1990 | 1,624 | #189 | 0.79 |
| 1989 | 1,401 | #205 | 0.70 |
| 1988 | 1,208 | #217 | 0.63 |
| 1987 | 1,018 | #231 | 0.55 |
| 1986 | 608 | #327 | 0.33 |
| 1985 | 467 | #383 | 0.25 |
| 1984 | 299 | #484 | 0.17 |
| 1983 | 220 | #571 | 0.12 |
| 1982 | 190 | #629 | 0.10 |
| 1981 | 208 | #595 | 0.12 |
| 1980 | 189 | #635 | 0.11 |
| 1979 | 150 | #699 | 0.09 |
| 1978 | 117 | #783 | 0.07 |
| 1977 | 122 | #772 | 0.07 |
| 1976 | 95 | #858 | 0.06 |
| 1975 | 102 | #826 | 0.07 |
| 1974 | 86 | #865 | 0.05 |
| 1973 | 94 | #822 | 0.06 |
| 1972 | 74 | #933 | 0.05 |
| 1971 | 56 | #1,097 | 0.03 |
| 1970 | 71 | #954 | 0.04 |
| 1969 | 79 | #865 | 0.04 |
| 1968 | 71 | #864 | 0.04 |
| 1967 | 57 | #963 | 0.03 |
| 1966 | 64 | #909 | 0.04 |
| 1965 | 65 | #923 | 0.03 |
| 1964 | 61 | #977 | 0.03 |
| 1963 | 64 | #942 | 0.03 |
| 1962 | 58 | #1,010 | 0.03 |
| 1961 | 54 | #1,063 | 0.03 |
| 1960 | 59 | #1,003 | 0.03 |
| 1959 | 81 | #840 | 0.04 |
| 1958 | 59 | #997 | 0.03 |
| 1957 | 66 | #932 | 0.03 |
| 1956 | 82 | #826 | 0.04 |
| 1955 | 90 | #767 | 0.04 |
| 1954 | 78 | #823 | 0.04 |
| 1953 | 66 | #885 | 0.03 |
| 1952 | 73 | #826 | 0.04 |
| 1951 | 65 | #872 | 0.03 |
| 1950 | 63 | #866 | 0.04 |
| 1949 | 59 | #901 | 0.03 |
| 1948 | 59 | #896 | 0.03 |
| 1947 | 66 | #857 | 0.04 |
| 1946 | 82 | #724 | 0.05 |
| 1945 | 52 | #874 | 0.04 |
| 1944 | 69 | #751 | 0.05 |
| 1943 | 66 | #812 | 0.05 |
| 1942 | 64 | #811 | 0.05 |
| 1941 | 65 | #775 | 0.05 |
| 1940 | 59 | #816 | 0.05 |
| 1939 | 69 | #722 | 0.06 |
| 1938 | 74 | #713 | 0.07 |
| 1937 | 53 | #840 | 0.05 |
| 1936 | 59 | #804 | 0.06 |
| 1935 | 75 | #700 | 0.07 |
| 1934 | 68 | #744 | 0.07 |
| 1933 | 68 | #743 | 0.07 |
| 1932 | 89 | #640 | 0.09 |
| 1931 | 84 | #655 | 0.08 |
| 1930 | 98 | #624 | 0.09 |
| 1929 | 127 | #521 | 0.12 |
| 1928 | 116 | #572 | 0.10 |
| 1927 | 103 | #617 | 0.09 |
| 1926 | 87 | #681 | 0.08 |
| 1925 | 113 | #593 | 0.10 |
| 1924 | 117 | #588 | 0.10 |
| 1923 | 124 | #559 | 0.11 |
| 1922 | 142 | #519 | 0.13 |
| 1921 | 109 | #605 | 0.10 |
| 1920 | 120 | #569 | 0.11 |
| 1919 | 134 | #514 | 0.14 |
| 1918 | 150 | #488 | 0.15 |
| 1917 | 147 | #471 | 0.16 |
| 1916 | 147 | #473 | 0.17 |
| 1915 | 176 | #404 | 0.21 |
| 1914 | 132 | #415 | 0.20 |
| 1913 | 121 | #385 | 0.24 |
| 1912 | 113 | #366 | 0.26 |
| 1911 | 49 | #410 | 0.22 |
| 1910 | 41 | #429 | 0.21 |
| 1909 | 29 | #481 | 0.18 |
| 1908 | 27 | #483 | 0.17 |
| 1907 | 22 | #504 | 0.15 |
| 1906 | 29 | #405 | 0.22 |
| 1905 | 23 | #473 | 0.17 |
| 1904 | 17 | #553 | 0.13 |
| 1903 | 17 | #542 | 0.14 |
| 1902 | 26 | #401 | 0.21 |
| 1901 | 18 | #461 | 0.17 |
| 1900 | 22 | #503 | 0.15 |
| 1899 | 12 | #602 | 0.11 |
| 1898 | 16 | #533 | 0.13 |
| 1897 | 21 | #419 | 0.19 |
| 1896 | 16 | #527 | 0.13 |
| 1895 | 13 | #594 | 0.11 |
| 1894 | 8 | #834 | 0.07 |
| 1893 | 13 | #560 | 0.12 |
| 1892 | 10 | #730 | 0.08 |
| 1891 | 7 | #815 | 0.07 |
| 1890 | 15 | #502 | 0.14 |
| 1889 | 11 | #610 | 0.10 |
| 1888 | 7 | #885 | 0.06 |
| 1887 | 7 | #802 | 0.07 |
| 1886 | 6 | #926 | 0.05 |
| 1885 | 8 | #742 | 0.07 |
| 1884 | 8 | #737 | 0.07 |
| 1883 | 10 | #622 | 0.10 |
| 1882 | 6 | #911 | 0.05 |
| 1880 | 9 | #668 | 0.08 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Maxwell a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Maxwell has been given almost only to boys: 735 girls in 145 years of records.
Girls and boys named Maxwell: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Maxwell, and how old are they?
103,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 94% of the 109,467 Americans ever recorded as Maxwell. The median Maxwell alive today is 18 years old; half are between 11 and 27.
The 2020 Census counted 83,285 people named Maxwell (539 women and girls, 82,746 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 91,687 born in the U.S. The Census count is 9% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 228 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 844 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,330 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 17,400 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 47,100 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 36,500 |
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 Maxwell born?
The states with the most babies named Maxwell are California, New York and Texas, with 22% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 198 | #190 | 0.8× |
| New York | 113 | #170 | 1.1× |
| Texas | 110 | #347 | 0.4× |
| Ohio | 89 | #156 | 1.3× |
| Pennsylvania | 78 | #168 | 1.1× |
| Florida | 76 | #274 | 0.7× |
| Michigan | 74 | #139 | 1.3× |
| Illinois | 71 | #167 | 1.1× |
| North Carolina | 69 | #183 | 0.6× |
| Massachusetts | 65 | #110 | 1.7× |
Where Maxwell is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Maxwell is most over-represented in Minnesota: since 1910 it was given 2.0 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 Maxwell 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 3 names spelled alike, given to 109,988 babies since 1880, Maxwell is the most given (100% of them). In 2025 it was given to 1,939 of their 1,939 babies (100%), 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 Maxwell
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 Maxwell and names like it
- Compare Maxwell and MaxwelBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2010sMaxwell peaked in 2014.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Maxwell since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Maxwell: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2014The year the most babies were named Maxwell.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Maxwell alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with MMost given first.