Maxim
Masculine · “greatest”
Maxim is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 6,992 boys against 6 girls since 1880.
Maxim is greatest, in Latin — the superlative of magnus, and the name of a Roman emperor before it became one of the standard names of Russia.
How old is the name Maxim?
Maxim first appears in US birth records in 1923 — 102 years ago. The typical Maxim alive today was born around 2011, making them about 14 years old. About 6,800 people named Maxim are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Maxim most popular?
Maxim peaked in 2012, reaching #683 nationally. Today it ranks #1520, 837 places below that high. See the whole 2012 chart.
Maxim appears on these lists:
Where it comes from
From maximus to Maxim
The story of Maxim
Maximus was a Roman name carried by emperors and by several early saints, including Maximus the Confessor, whose theology shaped the Eastern church. Slavic languages took it as Maksim, and it became one of the standard Russian names. Russian and Eastern European emigration brought Maxim to America, where it rose through the 2000s and is in current use.
Meaning
greatest
From the Latin maximus, 'greatest', the superlative of magnus, 'great'. The same word gives the English maximum and the month of May's older Roman associations. The meaning is transparent and undisputed. The English noun 'maxim', a saying, is a separate word from a different Latin phrase.
How the name formed
- maximus
- Maximus
- Maksim
- Maxim
Related forms: Максим · Maxime · Maximus
Pronouncing Maxim
mak-SEEM
Two syllables, stress on the second, in the Russian manner. English speakers often say MAK-sim with the stress at the front, and both are in use.
Nicknames for Maxim
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
- 1923
- Most boys named
- 2012346 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #683reached in 2012
- Change vs 2024
- −8.8%114 in 2025, from 125
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.
Maxim in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Максим in Russian — transliteration
- Maxime in French — related form
- Maximus in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Florida, New York.
Maxims among us
people named Maxim are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 14,983 born in 2025 was named Maxim
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Maxim
- #1520
- Maxim on the 2025 chart
- #724
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Maxim went to 114 boys in 2025, but Maksim, Maksym and Maxym are the same name said out loud. Together the 4 spellings went to 205, which makes it the 724th most-given boys’ name of the year — 796 places above the chart.
About 1 boy in 8,332 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 14,983 for Maxim itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Broderick test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Maxim's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Broderick climbed just as high around 1956, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Broderick's path sketches the road Maxim is walking now.
Maxim 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 Maxim is headed
Maxim is easing off slowly — about 19% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues.
High 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.
Maxim beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Maxim in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is transparent, undisputed and about as strong as meanings get.
- Max is available as a short form that is fully current everywhere.
- It is standard in Russian, Ukrainian and Romanian without change.
- The stress placement splits between a Russian and an English reading.
- The English word 'maxim' is a false friend.
- Maximus is the commoner form in current American use.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Maxim to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Maxim? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Maxim
Masculine · #1520 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Maxims are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 6,800 people named Maxim are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Maxim?
- Maxim is the most-used spelling in US records — 114 of the 205 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Maksim, Maksym and Maxym.
- How popular is the name Maxim in 2025?
- Maxim ranks #1520 among US boy names in 2025, with 114 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Maxim?
- About 1 in every 14,983 US boys born in 2025 was named Maxim — 114 in all.
- Will my child share the name Maxim with classmates?
- Maxim will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Maxim
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Zakaria#1520 · Montana#1520 · Karmelo#1520 · Barry#1520 · Summit#1520 · Kallum#1520 · Tymir#1520 · Gilberto#1520
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Maxim? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Maxim and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
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
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle