Head to head · Boys' names
Bodie vs Maximus
#275 vs #275 in 2025
Bodie and Maximus share the same spot on the 2025 charts (#275). The records cannot split them; sound and story will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
The tape is even: Bodie and Maximus each lead 2 measures of 6.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1920s: Bodie #4061, Maximus — — Bodie higher
- 1950s: Bodie #3490, Maximus — — Bodie higher
- 1960s: Bodie #2730, Maximus — — Bodie higher
- 1970s: Bodie #3352, Maximus — — Bodie higher
- 1980s: Bodie #3877, Maximus — — Bodie higher
- 1990s: Bodie #3165, Maximus #6257 — Bodie higher
- 2000s: Bodie #1617, Maximus #385 — Maximus higher
- 2010s: Bodie #972, Maximus #207 — Maximus higher
- 2020s: Bodie #438, Maximus #285 — Maximus higher
Bodie stood higher in 6 of 9 decades; Maximus has held the lead since the 2000s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Bodie | Maximus |
|---|---|---|
| 1920s | #4061 | — |
| 1950s | #3490 | — |
| 1960s | #2730 | — |
| 1970s | #3352 | — |
| 1980s | #3877 | — |
| 1990s | #3165 | #6257 |
| 2000s | #1617 | #385 |
| 2010s | #972 | #207 |
| 2020s | #438 | #285 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Bodie
Not established
Three roads meet at this spelling and none has been settled as the source. As a surname it connects to Bode and Boden, from the Germanic and Old English word for a messenger or herald. As a place name it comes from the California mining camp, named for a prospector whose surname was written Bodey. And it is a homophone of Bodhi, the Sanskrit word for awakening used in Buddhist texts, which many American parents now use as an alternative spelling. Parents choosing Bodie can honestly pick which of these they mean.
How it traveled
The clearest documented Bodie is the town: gold was found in that stretch of the Sierra Nevada in 1859, the camp took the finder's surname with the spelling smoothed to Bodie, and by the 1880s it was one of the roughest boomtowns in the West. It emptied out, survived, and is a California state historic park today, which kept the spelling visible long after the mines closed.
Maximus
greatest, largest
The Latin superlative of magnus, "great" — so not simply "great" but "greatest."
magnus (Latin: great) → Maximus → Maximianus → Maximilianus → Maximilian
How it traveled
Maximus began as a Roman cognomen, an extra name marking distinction within a family, and it stayed in use through late antiquity and into the Christian era, borne by bishops and by Maximus the Confessor, the seventh-century Byzantine theologian. From the same root Latin grew Maximianus and, in the Middle Ages, Maximilian, which became a Habsburg family name and spread through German and Central European Europe.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Bodie
BOH-dee
Rhymes with roadie. Identical in sound to Bodhi, and one consonant away from Brody — expect to be asked which spelling you mean rather than how to say it.
- Bo — The default short form, and a long-established standalone given name in its own right in the US.
- Bodes — Informal, mostly among friends and teammates.
- B — Initial-only, used casually the way most B names get shortened.
Maximus
MAK-si-mus
Stress on the first syllable. The Latin -us ending is said plainly, "muss," not "moose." Rarely misheard once spoken, and the spelling follows the sound letter for letter.
- Max — The default short form, and a long-established given name in its own right — expect it to be used at home, at school, and on sports rosters.
- Maxi — Informal, mostly used by family and in the younger years.
- Maxie — Informal spelling variant of the same short form.
- Mo — Occasional, informal; comes from the sound rather than the spelling.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Bodie if you want…
- a name on the way upup 337 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesBodie is 2 syllables to Maximus's 3
Choose Maximus if you want…
- a name holding steadyMaximus is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itMaximus runs 3 syllables, Bodie 2
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Bodie
Strengths
- Ready-made short form in Bo, which already works on its own as a name and needs no explanation to anyone.
- Two syllables, five letters, and readable at first sight by English speakers — no one has to guess at the vowels.
- Fits the established American pattern of surname-and-place names for boys, so it sounds current without being invented.
To consider
- The spelling will need repeating for life. Bodhi, Brody, Bode and Boadie are all in circulation, and Bodhi in particular is close enough that people will default to it.
- It is one letter from the word body, and children notice that sort of thing. Most outgrow it quickly, but it is worth saying out loud before you decide.
- The wave is very recent and rising fast. A Bodie today will likely be the only one in his class, but that picture can change over the years a child is in school.
Maximus
Strengths
- Spelled exactly as it sounds, and already familiar to most English speakers from Roman history — little correcting required.
- Comes with Max ready-made, a short form with centuries of independent use behind it.
- Documented continuously since Roman antiquity, so it is old rather than newly coined.
To consider
- It means "greatest," and it is a superlative in a way most names are not. Some people hear grandeur in that; a few hear it as a lot to place on an infant. Worth saying aloud a few times with your surname.
- The Gladiator connection is strong for adults who saw the film, less so for children who have not. It will be the first thing some people mention, at least for now.
- Shortening to Max solves any formality problem, but Max is a common name on its own — he may be one of several Maxes in a room while remaining the only Maximus.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Bodie
59%chance Bodie feels dated by 2040
Bodie is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
Maximus
40%chance Maximus feels dated by 2040
Maximus sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Bodie and Maximus in full.
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Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
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Put both to the vote.
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Names ending in -ie
- Three-syllable names with room to move
- Seven-letter names, ranked by real use
- Names with an X in them
- all guides
Where Bodie and Maximus each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Bodie or Maximus — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Bodie or Maximus?
- They tie in 2025: Bodie ranked #275 with 1,249 babies; Maximus ranked #275 with 1,249 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Bodie or Maximus?
- Bodie. Over the last five years Bodie moved up 337 places; Maximus moved down 25 places.
- Which is the older name, Bodie or Maximus?
- Bodie entered the US charts in 1920; Maximus entered the US charts in 1997. On the American record, Bodie is the older name.
- How many people are named Bodie and Maximus?
- About 8,500 people named Bodie are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 34,500 people named Maximus are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Bodies or Maximuss in the classroom?
- Bodie will almost certainly be the only one in school. Maximus will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
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