Maks
A masculine name of Russian origin representing a diminutive form of "Maksim".
Name Census estimates that about 328 living Americans carry the first name Maks. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Maks today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maks births was 2011 (43 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maks. 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
328
~ 1 in 1,044,983 Americans
Peak year
2011
43 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,075
Tracked since 2007
Popularity
Maks: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maks from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 251 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Maks 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 Maks during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Maks' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Maks
The name Maks is a variant of the name Maksim, which is derived from the Latin name Maximus, meaning "greatest" or "largest." The name Maksim has its roots in ancient Rome and was used as a cognomen or nickname for prominent Roman families.
The name Maks is believed to have originated in Eastern Europe, particularly in Slavic-speaking countries such as Russia and Ukraine. It gained popularity as a diminutive form of the name Maksim, which was widely used in these regions.
One of the earliest known historical references to the name Maks can be found in Russian literature from the 19th century. The name was used by famous Russian writers such as Fyodor Dostoevsky and Leo Tolstoy in their literary works, reflecting its widespread use among the Russian population during that time.
The name Maks has also been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the most famous bearers of this name was Maksim Gorky, a Russian writer and political activist who lived from 1868 to 1936. His real name was Alexei Maximovich Peshkov, but he adopted the pen name Maksim Gorky, which means "Maxim the Bitter."
Another notable figure with the name Maks was Maksim Bahdanovič, a Belarusian poet and literary critic who lived from 1891 to 1917. He is considered one of the most prominent figures in the Belarusian literary renaissance of the early 20th century.
In the field of science, Maks Born, a German physicist and mathematician who lived from 1882 to 1970, made significant contributions to the development of quantum mechanics. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1954 for his work on the statistical interpretation of wave functions.
Maks Lewin, a Polish-born painter and graphic artist who lived from 1899 to 1995, was also a notable bearer of this name. He was known for his avant-garde and abstract works, and his art was influenced by various movements, including Cubism and Surrealism.
Finally, Maks Rosenfeld, an Austrian-American physicist who lived from 1884 to 1942, made important contributions to the field of solid-state physics. He is best known for his work on the theory of electric and magnetic properties of metals and semiconductors.
People
Maks + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maks 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
Maks: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maks?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 328 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maks 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 1,044,983 US residents.
Is Maks a common name?
We classify Maks as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 331 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maks most popular?
The single biggest year for Maks was 2011, when 43 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maks is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Maks a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Maks 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.