Max
A masculine name derived from the Latin "Maximus" meaning "greatest" or "largest".
Name Census estimates that about 120,684 living Americans carry the first name Max. It sits at #175 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It is a predominantly male name (99.4% of registrations). The average person named Max today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Max births was 2009 (3,969 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Max. 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
- • Although Max is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 1,078 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
121K
~ 1 in 2,840 Americans
Peak year
2009
3,969 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2024 SSA rank
#175
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Max
Out of the 166,491 babies given the name Max since 1880, 99.4% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Max as a male name
- Ranked #175 in 2024
- 2,120 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2009 (3,958 births)
Max as a female name
- Ranked #3,470 in 2024
- 45 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (73 births)
Popularity
Max: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Max from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 34,400 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Max remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Max 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 Max during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Max' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Max, while Delaware, Vermont, Wyoming recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 3,124 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Max
The name Max is a masculine given name with its origins in the Roman family name Maximus, meaning "the greatest" in Latin. It is derived from the Latin root "magnus," which translates to "great." The name gained popularity during the Roman Empire and was often given to male children as a symbol of strength and ambition.
The earliest recorded use of the name Max can be traced back to ancient Rome, where it was borne by several notable historical figures. One of the most famous was Marcus Valerius Maximus, a Roman general and statesman who lived in the 3rd century BC. He was renowned for his military victories and his role in preserving the Roman Republic.
In the Middle Ages, the name Max was widely used across Europe, particularly in Germanic-speaking regions. It was a common name among nobility and the ruling classes, with several kings and princes bearing the name. One notable example is Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 to 1519, who played a significant role in the Renaissance and the Reformation.
As the name spread across Europe, it also found its way into various literary works and religious texts. In the Bible, the name is mentioned in the form of Maximus, which was the name of one of the early Christian martyrs. Additionally, the name appears in several works of medieval literature, such as the Nibelungenlied, a German epic poem from the 13th century.
Throughout history, several prominent figures have borne the name Max. These include:
1. Max Planck (1858-1947), a German theoretical physicist who originated quantum theory and won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918.
2. Max Reinhardt (1873-1943), an Austrian-American theatre director and impresario who is considered one of the most influential figures in modern theatre.
3. Max Ernst (1891-1976), a German painter and pioneer of the Dada movement and Surrealism in art.
4. Max Factor (1872-1938), a Polish-American businessman and entrepreneur who founded the cosmetics company that bears his name.
5. Max Beckmann (1884-1950), a German painter, printmaker, and sculptor who was associated with the Expressionist and New Objectivity movements in art.
The name Max has maintained its popularity over the centuries and continues to be a common choice for baby boys in various cultures and countries around the world.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Max
People
Max + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Max 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
Max: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Max?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 120,684 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Max 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 2,840 US residents.
Is Max a common name?
We classify Max as "Common". It ranks above 99.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 166,491 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Max most popular?
The single biggest year for Max was 2009, when 3,969 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Max is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Max a male name?
Yes, 99.4% of people registered as Max 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.