Max
Feminine · “greatest”
Max is given to boys far more often — 167,458 boys against 1,119 girls since 1880. See Max as a boy name
Max is the short form of Maximilian, Maxwell and Maxine, and the Latin at the bottom of most of them is a superlative: maximus, the greatest.
How old is the name Max?
Max first appears in US birth records in 1912 — 113 years ago. The typical Max is a kid of about 12 — this name's wave is very recent. About 900 people named Max are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Max most popular?
Max peaked in 1933, reaching #2404 nationally. Today it ranks #3645, 1,241 places below that high. See the whole 1933 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From maximus to Max
The story of Max
Maximus was a Roman name and title and became a Christian one through a considerable number of early martyrs. English produced Max as a short form of Maximilian and Maxwell in the nineteenth century, and Maxine was coined as a feminine around 1900. Max was registered as a women's name in American records in the 1930s in real numbers and has come back in recent years alongside Charlie, Frankie and Sam.
Meaning
greatest
From Latin maximus, the superlative of magnus, great; Maxine is a twentieth-century feminine built on it, and Maxwell is a separate Scottish place name that happens to produce the same clip.
How the name formed
- maximus
- Maxine
- Max
Related forms: Maximilian · Maxine · Massimo
Pronouncing Max
MAKS
One syllable. There is no variation.
Nicknames for Max
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1912
- Most girls named
- 202373 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2404reached in 1933
- Change vs 2023
- −43.8%41 in 2025, from 73
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Max in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Maximilian in German — related form
- Maxine in English — related form
- Massimo in Italian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, New York, Texas.
Maxs among us
people named Max are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 39,202 born in 2025 was named Max
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Amna test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Max's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Amna climbed just as high around 1910, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Amna's path sketches the road Max is walking now.
Max 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 scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Max is headed
Max should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Max beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Max in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning that could hardly be simpler or stronger.
- Three letters and one syllable — as short as a name gets.
- Maxine and Maximilian both stand behind it as fuller formal options.
- It is read as a boy's name by default, and she will correct that often.
- It reads as a nickname to most people, which may matter on a formal document.
- A three-letter name gives no room for a nickname.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Max
Feminine · #3645 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Maxs are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Max are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Max in 2025?
- Max ranks #3645 among US girl names in 2025, with 41 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Max?
- About 1 in every 39,202 US girls born in 2025 was named Max — 41 in all.
- Will my child share the name Max with classmates?
- Max will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Max
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Elenor#3645 · Azucena#3645 · Alaura#3645 · Judah#3645 · Rylen#3645 · Zamiyah#3645 · Naiara#3645 · Marietta#3645
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Max? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Max and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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