Maxwell

What Maxwell means

Means “well”

From an earlier form Mackeswell, meaning "Mack's well or spring", from Old English welle (“well”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Maxwell” (revision 94755405), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Maxwell?

US: Falling: down from #113 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #128 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2014, when 3,739 boys got the name (#107 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 888 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 992 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 1,403 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 DC (5.54 per 1,000 boys), RI (5.44 per 1,000 boys), VT (4.13 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

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

US vs UK

Maxwell is #189 in the US and #183 in England & Wales (2025).

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

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.2% of US babies named Maxwell were boys.

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

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

If you like Maxwell

Boys

• Kameron#466Variant of Cameron, meaning “crooked, bent + nose”^*
• Corbin#512“crow”^*
• Zane#324Variant of Zayn, meaning “beauty”^*
• Logan#53“little hollow”^*
• Mason#39From a surname for “a stonemason”^*
• Parker#102From a surname for “a gamekeeper”^*

For a sister

• Skyler#670Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #283 in 2015, #670 in 2025
• Claire#68Variant of Clare, meaning “bright, shining, clear”^*
• Kamryn#556Variant of Cameron, meaning “crooked, bent + nose”^*
• Makenna#593Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 2005, with 1,619 babies; 495 in 2025
• Skylar#167Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #42 in 2015, #167 in 2025
• Camryn#476Variant of Cameron, meaning “crooked, bent + nose”^*

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