Paxson
A masculine name of Latin origin meaning "son of peace".
Name Census estimates that about 430 living Americans carry the first name Paxson. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Paxson today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Paxson births was 2012 (39 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Paxson. 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
430
~ 1 in 797,103 Americans
Peak year
2012
39 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,703
Tracked since 1993
Popularity
Paxson: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Paxson from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 280 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Paxson remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Paxson 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 Paxson during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Paxsons live
Origin
Meaning and history of Paxson
The given name Paxson is of English origin, derived from the Old English surname Paxman, which means "son of Pax." The name Pax is believed to be a shortened form of the Latin word "pax," meaning peace.
The earliest recorded use of the name Paxson dates back to the late 16th century. One of the earliest known individuals with this name was John Paxson, an English landowner born in 1587 in Worcestershire, England. The name was most commonly found in the English counties of Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, and Somerset during this time period.
In the 17th century, the name Paxson gained some prominence when Thomas Paxson (1617-1690) became a prominent Quaker leader and advocate for religious freedom in Pennsylvania, USA. He was among the first settlers of the region and played a significant role in the establishment of the Quaker community there.
Another notable individual with the name Paxson was Joseph Paxson (1776-1818), an American painter and etcher known for his landscapes and portraits. He was born in Pennsylvania and was a member of the prestigious Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
Moving into the 20th century, Paxson Jeters (1877-1937) was an American baseball player who played for several teams, including the Philadelphia Athletics and the Boston Red Sox, between 1898 and 1910.
In more recent times, Jim Paxson (born 1955) is a former American basketball player and executive who played for the Portland Trail Blazers and later served as the general manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Detroit Pistons.
While the name Paxson is not as common as some other English names, it has a rich history and has been carried by individuals who have made significant contributions in various fields throughout the centuries.
People
Paxson + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Paxson as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Paxson: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Paxson?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 430 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Paxson 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 797,103 US residents.
Is Paxson a common name?
We classify Paxson as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 433 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Paxson most popular?
The single biggest year for Paxson was 2012, when 39 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Paxson is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Paxson a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Paxson 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.