Axcel
A combination of the prefix "ax" meaning axis and "cel" meaning celestial.
Name Census estimates that about 365 living Americans carry the first name Axcel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Axcel today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Axcel births was 2011 (30 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Axcel. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
365
~ 1 in 939,053 Americans
Peak year
2011
30 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,279
Tracked since 1991
Census
Axcel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 335 people with the first name Axcel, which placed it at #27,353 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#27,353
National first-name rank
People counted
335
335 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
86.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Axcel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Axcel is Hispanic at 86.3%. The next largest groups are White (7.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Axcel described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Axcel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino86.3% · 289
- White7.2% · 24
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.3% · 11
- Black or African American1.8% · 6
- Two or more races1.2% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Popularity
Axcel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Axcel from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 171 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Axcel remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Axcel by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Axcel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Axcels live
Origin
Meaning and history of Axcel
The name Axcel has its roots in the Old Norse language, originating from the word "aksill," which means "axle" or "axis." This name likely emerged during the Viking Age, between the 8th and 11th centuries, when the Norse people occupied and explored parts of Europe, including Scandinavia, the British Isles, and beyond.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Axcel can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, a collection of historical narratives dating back to the 13th century. These sagas often featured characters with names rooted in Old Norse, reflecting the cultural significance of naming traditions.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Axcel. One prominent example is Axcel Oxenstierna (1583-1654), a Swedish statesman and Lord High Chancellor during the reign of King Gustavus Adolphus. He played a crucial role in shaping Swedish foreign policy and strengthening the country's position as a major European power.
Another historical figure bearing the name Axcel is Axcel Vordingborg (1530-1603), a Danish naval officer and admiral who served under King Frederick II. He is renowned for his contributions to the Danish navy and his role in various maritime conflicts during the 16th century.
In the realm of literature, Axcel Olrik (1864-1917) was a Danish scholar and folklore researcher. He is best known for his work in collecting and preserving Danish folk tales and ballads, which helped shed light on the cultural heritage of Denmark.
Moving to the field of art, Axcel Gallen-Kallela (1865-1931) was a Finnish painter and illustrator who played a significant role in the Finnish national romantic movement. His works, often depicting scenes from the Kalevala (the Finnish national epic), have become iconic representations of Finnish culture and identity.
Finally, Axcel Skovgaard (1858-1938) was a Danish painter and sculptor known for his religious works, including the frescoes and sculptures he created for various churches in Denmark. His art reflected the spiritual and cultural values of his time, making him a prominent figure in the Danish art scene.
While the name Axcel may not be as common today as it once was, its historical significance and connections to various cultural and linguistic traditions have left an indelible mark on the rich tapestry of human history.
People
Axcel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Axcel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Axcel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Axcel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 365 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Axcel going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 939,053 US residents.
Is Axcel a common name?
We classify Axcel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 369 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Axcel most popular?
The single biggest year for Axcel was 2011, when 30 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Axcel is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Axcel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 335 people with the name Axcel, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #27,353 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Axcel in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Axcel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Axcel leans strongly male. 320 people counted with this name were male (97.6%), compared with 8 female bearers (2.4%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Axcel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Axcel is Hispanic at 86.3%. The next largest groups are White (7.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Axcel most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Axcel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.3% (289 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Axcel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Axcel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Axcel in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Axcel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Axcel in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Axcel can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Axcel?
You can see how many people have the name Axcel on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.