Head to head · Boys' names
Maxwell vs Peter
#189 vs #187 in 2025
Peter is a whisker ahead (#187 vs #189 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Peter is holding its place on the charts, Maxwell is stepping back from its peak.
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
On the charts, Peter leads 5 measures of 6; Maxwell leads 0.
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
- 1880s: Maxwell #719, Peter #38 — Peter higher
- 1890s: Maxwell #588, Peter #50 — Peter higher
- 1900s: Maxwell #470, Peter #58 — Peter higher
- 1910s: Maxwell #434, Peter #51 — Peter higher
- 1920s: Maxwell #581, Peter #58 — Peter higher
- 1930s: Maxwell #714, Peter #56 — Peter higher
- 1940s: Maxwell #817, Peter #39 — Peter higher
- 1950s: Maxwell #860, Peter #38 — Peter higher
- 1960s: Maxwell #947, Peter #41 — Peter higher
- 1970s: Maxwell #857, Peter #51 — Peter higher
- 1980s: Maxwell #427, Peter #60 — Peter higher
- 1990s: Maxwell #166, Peter #90 — Peter higher
- 2000s: Maxwell #134, Peter #156 — Maxwell higher
- 2010s: Maxwell #123, Peter #205 — Maxwell higher
- 2020s: Maxwell #172, Peter #205 — Maxwell higher
Peter stood higher in 12 of 15 decades; Maxwell has held the lead since the 2000s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Maxwell | Peter |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #719 | #38 |
| 1890s | #588 | #50 |
| 1900s | #470 | #58 |
| 1910s | #434 | #51 |
| 1920s | #581 | #58 |
| 1930s | #714 | #56 |
| 1940s | #817 | #39 |
| 1950s | #860 | #38 |
| 1960s | #947 | #41 |
| 1970s | #857 | #51 |
| 1980s | #427 | #60 |
| 1990s | #166 | #90 |
| 2000s | #134 | #156 |
| 2010s | #123 | #205 |
| 2020s | #172 | #205 |
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
Maxwell
Maccus's pool — a pool or well on a river belonging to a man named Maccus
Maccus was a Norse-derived personal name in circulation in twelfth-century Scotland; the second element is the northern word for a pool in a river, close kin to English 'well' for a spring.
Maccus → Maccuswell → Maxwell (surname) → Maxwell (given name)
How it traveled
The name is a Scottish place before it is anything else — Maccuswell, a fishing pool on the Tweed in the Borders. The family that took its name from that pool became one of the great houses of southwest Scotland, and Maxwell spread as a surname from there through Scotland, Ulster and then across the Atlantic.
Peter
a rock
Greek, and the sense is not in dispute. The name is a translation of an Aramaic nickname rather than a borrowing of it, which is unusual: most names cross languages by sound rather than by meaning.
Kephas → Petros → Peter
How it traveled
A seabird may be named after him. Storm petrels are small ocean birds that feed by fluttering just above the surface with their feet pattering on the water, so that they appear to be walking on it, and the usual explanation of the name is that sailors called them little Peters after the gospel account.
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
Maxwell
MAKS-wel
Two syllables, stress on the first. The spelling gives no trouble on either side of the Atlantic — people read it correctly on sight.
- Max — By far the most common short form, and a standalone given name in its own right; works in a classroom and on a résumé alike.
- Mac — Draws on the first syllable; used informally, and familiar as a nickname across Scottish and Irish surnames generally.
- Maxie — Affectionate, mostly used at home and in early childhood.
- Well — Rare, family-only teasing use from the second half of the name.
Peter
PEE-tur
Two syllables with the stress at the front. The spelling is entirely unambiguous and the name is never mispronounced in English.
- Pete — The dominant short form and completely established on its own.
- Petey — An affectionate ending; warm and firmly of childhood.
Who has carried each name
Maxwell
No documented entry for Maxwell yet.
Peter
Peter Jackson (b. 1961) — Directed The Lord of the Rings
Peter O'Toole (b. 1932) — Lawrence of Arabia himself
Peter Higgs (b. 1929) — The physicist behind the Higgs boson
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Maxwell if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsMaxwell is stepping back from its peak
- plenty of nickname options4 recorded short forms — Max, Mac and Maxie
Choose Peter if you want…
- a name on the way upup 28 places on the charts in five years
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
Maxwell
Strengths
- Comes with Max ready-made: a short form in real use for generations, which also stands alone as a full name if he prefers it.
- Spelled one way and read one way; almost nobody asks how to write it.
- A documented line back to a twelfth-century place in the Scottish Borders, and a surname carried by a well-known border family.
To consider
- Max is shared territory. Many boys called Max arrive there from Maximilian, Maxim or Maximus, so the nickname will not mark him out even where the full name does.
- It still reads as a surname to a lot of ears, which is either the appeal or the objection depending on the household. Paired with a surname-sounding last name, the whole can sound like two family names in a row.
- There is a long-standing American coffee brand with this name, so expect the occasional joke — mild, and it tends to fade once someone has met an actual Maxwell.
Peter
Strengths
- It is recognized in every European language with minimal change.
- The meaning is concrete, solid and easy to explain to a child.
- It has been in continuous use for as long as records exist.
To consider
- Its peak was very early and the name carries some of that age.
- Pete is common enough that the full form may rarely be used.
- The record holds girls as well, and the girl is much the smaller side.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
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 Maxwell and Peter in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Maxwell and Peter?
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One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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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
- Seven-letter names, ranked by real use
- Names with an X in them
- Names with a double letter
- Names that begin and end with the same letter
- all guides
Where Maxwell and Peter each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Maxwell or Peter — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Maxwell or Peter?
- Peter, in 2025: Peter ranked #187 with 1,954 babies; Maxwell ranked #189 with 1,924 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Maxwell or Peter?
- Peter. Over the last five years Maxwell moved down 43 places; Peter moved up 28 places.
- Which is the older name, Maxwell or Peter?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Maxwell and Peter?
- About 103,000 people named Maxwell are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 399,000 people named Peter are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Maxwells or Peters in the classroom?
- Maxwell will almost certainly be the only one in school. Peter 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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