Axwell
A masculine name of Swedish origin meaning "descendant of Earl Axel".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Axwell. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Axwell today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Axwell births was 2014 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Axwell. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Axwell. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2014
5 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2014 SSA rank
#12,287
Tracked since 2014
Popularity
Axwell: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Axwell 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 Axwell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Axwell
The name Axwell is derived from the Old English name Axewold, which is a combination of the elements "ax" meaning "ax" and "weald" meaning "ruler" or "power." It can be traced back to the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain, around the 5th to 11th centuries AD.
Axwell was a relatively uncommon name during the Middle Ages, but it did appear in some historical records and manuscripts from that time. One of the earliest documented instances of the name is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where an individual named Axewold is listed as a landowner in Norfolk, England.
In the 13th century, a monk named Axwell is mentioned in the chronicles of the Benedictine monastery of St. Albans, located in Hertfordshire, England. He is noted for his involvement in a dispute over land ownership between the monastery and local nobles.
During the Renaissance period, there are records of an Axwell Browne, who was a wealthy merchant and alderman in the city of London in the late 16th century. He was known for his philanthropic efforts and contributed funds for the construction of several churches and charitable institutions in the city.
In the 17th century, a notable figure named Axwell Steele served as a captain in the Parliamentary army during the English Civil War. He fought alongside Oliver Cromwell and was present at the Battle of Naseby in 1645, which was a decisive victory for the Parliamentarians.
Another individual of historical significance was Axwell Pritchard, an English explorer and navigator who lived in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. He is best known for his expeditions to the South Pacific and his detailed maps and charts of the region, which were widely used by other explorers and navigators of the time.
While the name Axwell has been relatively rare throughout history, it has continued to be used as a first name, particularly in English-speaking countries. However, its popularity has waned in modern times, and it is now considered an uncommon or unique name choice.
People
Axwell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Axwell 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
Axwell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Axwell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Axwell 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Axwell a common name?
We classify Axwell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Axwell most popular?
The single biggest year for Axwell was 2014, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Axwell is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Axwell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Axwell a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Axwell 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 Axwell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Axwell 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 Axwell 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Axwell as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Axwell, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.