Axel

What Axel means

Meaning not yet sourced. Wiktionary has no word-by-word meaning for Axel yet, and we don’t write our own.

Editor’s note Up from #123 in 2015 to #79 in 2025 in the US. About 1 in 410 US boys in the 2025 records Worked out from the official US and England & Wales counts, not a meaning.

How popular is Axel?

US: Rising: up from #123 in 2015. England & Wales: Rising: up from #363 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2020, when 4,667 boys got the name (#72 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 413 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 749 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 1,091 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in WY (7.34 per 1,000 boys), ND (5.36 per 1,000 boys), NM (4.46 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Axel is #79 in the US and #147 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.8% of US babies named Axel were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Aksel155 US · 14 E&W
• Axell75 US
• Axyl23 US
• Axxel9 US
• Axil7 US
• Akzel5 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Axel

Boys

• Kai#93“warrior”^*
• Bruno#740“brown”^*
• Milo#119Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #288 in 2015, #119 in 2025
• Emory#883Editor’s note Down from #830 in 2015 to #883 in 2025 in the US
• Henry#5Editor’s note Up from #29 in 2015 to #5 in 2025 in the US. About 1 in 140 US boys in the 2025 records
• Oliver#3Editor’s note Up from #19 in 2015 to #3 in 2025 in the US. About 1 in 110 US boys in the 2025 records

For a sister

• Evelyn#8Same root as Eileen, possibly meaning “radiance, beauty”^*
• Adeline#59Form of Adela, meaning “noble”^*
• Adelaide#289“noble + nature, character”^*
• Lorelei#441“murmuring rock or lurking rock”^*
• Emery#74Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #74 vs #1,197 in 2025
• Matilda#364Editor’s note More popular in England & Wales than the US: #19 vs #364 in 2025

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Germanic, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Axel’s. Rank is US 2025.