Maxel
Alternate spelling of the masculine name Maxwell with Germanic origins meaning "great stream".
Name Census estimates that about 12 living Americans carry the first name Maxel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Maxel today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maxel births was 1931 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maxel. 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 Maxel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
12
~ 1 in 28,562,862 Americans
Peak year
1931
6 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2018 SSA rank
#13,440
Tracked since 1917
Popularity
Maxel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maxel from the 1910s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 11 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Maxel 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 Maxel 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 Maxel
The name Maxel is believed to have originated from the Germanic languages, specifically from the Old German word "mahhals," which means "strength" or "power." This name likely emerged during the Middle Ages, around the 8th to 10th centuries, as Germanic tribes migrated across Europe.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Maxel can be found in the annals of the Carolingian dynasty, which ruled over large parts of Western and Central Europe from the 8th to the 10th centuries. It is said that a nobleman named Maxel served as a trusted advisor to Charlemagne, the renowned king of the Franks and the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
In the 11th century, a Benedictine monk named Maxel was renowned for his scholarly works on theology and philosophy. He is credited with contributing to the intellectual revival of the medieval period, and his writings were widely circulated among monastic communities across Europe.
During the Crusades, which took place from the late 11th to the late 13th centuries, a knight named Maxel de Montfort gained fame for his bravery and skill on the battlefield. He was a prominent figure in the Third Crusade, led by Richard the Lionheart, and played a crucial role in the siege of Acre in 1191.
In the 15th century, a Renaissance painter from Italy named Maxel Boccaccio achieved recognition for his vibrant frescoes and religious paintings. His works can still be seen in various churches and art galleries throughout Italy, and he is considered an important figure in the development of Italian Renaissance art.
Another notable bearer of the name Maxel was a 16th-century explorer from Spain named Maxel de Mendoza. He was part of the Spanish expeditions to the Americas and is credited with establishing several settlements in present-day Mexico and Central America.
People
Maxel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maxel 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
Maxel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maxel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maxel 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 28,562,862 US residents.
Is Maxel a common name?
We classify Maxel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 32.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 22 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maxel most popular?
The single biggest year for Maxel was 1931, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maxel is about 14 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 Maxel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Maxel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Maxel 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 Maxel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Maxel 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 Maxel 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 share the name Maxel?
Want to know how many people have the name Maxel? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.