Max: Meaning, origin and popularity

Pronounced MAKS · 1 syllable

Borrowed from German Max, diminutive of Maximilian in the 19th century, later also used as a nickname for Maxwell.

How popular is Max?

Max was the #180 name in the US in 2025, given to 2,066 babies. It’s used less than it was: down 38% on 2011–2015. It peaked around 2010.

Babies named Max in the US by five-year period, relative to its peak (around 2010).

Half of US adults named Max are older than 33; most are between 19 and 82. (Estimated from US births by year and life tables.)

Names that real brothers and sisters of people named Max have, from family records on Wikidata, most common first.

Chosen by the same families or with a similar style and era.

Max is pronounced MAKS.

Max was the #180 name in the US in 2025, given to 2,066 babies. It’s used less than it was: down 38% on 2011–2015. It peaked around 2010.

Half of US adults named Max are older than 33. Most are between 19 and 82.