Magnum
An English name meaning "great" or "large", derived from Latin.
Name Census estimates that about 267 living Americans carry the first name Magnum. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Magnum today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Magnum births was 2008 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Magnum. 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
267
~ 1 in 1,283,724 Americans
Peak year
2008
17 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2023 SSA rank
#10,360
Tracked since 1981
Popularity
Magnum: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Magnum from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 84 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Magnum 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 Magnum during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Magnum
The name Magnum has its origins in Latin, where it was used as an adjective meaning "great" or "large". It is derived from the Latin word "magnus", which shares the same meaning.
The earliest recorded use of the name Magnum dates back to ancient Rome, where it was sometimes given as a cognomen (a third name) to individuals who had accomplished great feats or were of significant stature. One notable example is Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, better known as Pompey the Great, a famous Roman statesman and military leader who lived from 106 BC to 48 BC.
In the Middle Ages, the name Magnum was occasionally used as a given name, particularly in monasteries and religious orders, where it was seen as a fitting name for those who had dedicated their lives to spiritual pursuits.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Magnum was Magnum Felicis, a Benedictine monk who lived in the 9th century and was renowned for his scholarly works on theology and philosophy.
In the 12th century, a notable figure named Magnum de Villanova, a physician and alchemist from Valencia, Spain, gained recognition for his contributions to the field of medicine and his writings on the occult sciences.
During the Renaissance period, the name Magnum was sometimes used as a artistic or intellectual pseudonym, reflecting the era's emphasis on classical ideals and the pursuit of knowledge.
One such individual was Magnum Gratius, the pen name of an Italian humanist and poet from the 15th century, whose real name was Tito Vespasiano Strozzi.
In the 17th century, a French philosopher and theologian named Magnum Franciscus Mersenne, born in 1588, made significant contributions to the fields of mathematics, music theory, and natural philosophy.
Another notable figure with the name Magnum was Magnum Oppenord, a French architect and interior designer who lived from 1642 to 1708 and was known for his elaborate and ornate Baroque style.
Throughout history, the name Magnum has been associated with individuals who have achieved greatness or made significant contributions in various fields, reflecting the name's Latin origins and connotations of grandeur and accomplishment.
People
Magnum + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Magnum as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Magnum: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Magnum?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 267 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Magnum 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 1,283,724 US residents.
Is Magnum a common name?
We classify Magnum as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 272 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Magnum most popular?
The single biggest year for Magnum was 2008, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Magnum is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Magnum a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Magnum 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.
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.