Maximillian
Masculine · “greatest”
Maximillian was coined by an emperor for his son — Frederick III joined Maximus to Aemilianus around 1459, naming the boy for two Romans at once.
How old is the name Maximillian?
Maximillian first appears in US birth records in 1914 — 111 years ago. The typical Maximillian alive today was born around 2002, making them about 23 years old. About 5,800 people named Maximillian are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Maximillian most popular?
Maximillian peaked in 1999, reaching #675 nationally. Today it ranks #1837, 1,162 places below that high. See the whole 1999 chart.
Maximillian appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From maximus to Maximillian
The story of Maximillian
Frederick III named his son Maximilian in 1459, reportedly hoping he would combine the qualities of Fabius Maximus and Scipio Aemilianus. Maximilian I became Holy Roman Emperor and the name spread across Catholic Europe. Maximilian Kolbe died at Auschwitz in another man's place. The doubled-l spelling is in current American use.
Meaning
greatest
From the Latin Maximilianus, which Frederick III appears to have built from Maximus, 'greatest', and Aemilianus, after two Roman figures he admired. Maximus is the superlative of magnus and gives English maximum. The coinage is documented; the doubled l is a modern American variation.
How the name formed
- maximus
- Maximilianus
- Maximillian
Related forms: Maximilian · Maximilian · Maximiliano
Pronouncing Maximillian
mak-sih-MIL-ee-un
Five syllables, stress on the third. Maximillian and Maximilian are said identically.
Nicknames for Maximillian
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
- 1914
- Most boys named
- 1999250 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #675reached in 1999
- Change vs 2024
- +26.5%86 in 2025, from 68
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.
Maximillian in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Maximilian in English — spelling variant
- Maximilian in German — related form
- Maximiliano in Spanish — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Maximillians among us
people named Maximillian are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 19,861 born in 2025 was named Maximillian
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Maximillian
- #1837
- Maximillian on the 2025 chart
- #466
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Maximillian went to 86 boys in 2025, but Maximilian and Maksymilian are the same name said out loud. Together the 3 spellings went to 591, which makes it the 466th most-given boys’ name of the year — 1,371 places above the chart.
- Maximilian497
- Maximillian86
- Maksymilian8
About 1 boy in 2,890 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 19,861 for Maximillian 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 Garner test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Maximillian's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Garner climbed just as high around 1932, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Garner's path sketches the road Maximillian is walking now.
Maximillian is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Maximillian is headed
Maximillian should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium 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.
Maximillian beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Maximillian in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The coinage is unusually well documented — one emperor, one son, one year.
- Max is available as a short form that is fully current everywhere.
- The greatest meaning is transparent and undisputed.
- Maximilian with one l is the standard spelling.
- Five syllables make it very long for everyday use.
- It reads as grand rather than ordinary.
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What they receive
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Maximillian
Masculine · #1837 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Maximillians are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 5,800 people named Maximillian are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Maximillian?
- Maximillian is one of 3 recorded spellings. Maximilian is the more common one — 497 births in 2025 against 86 for Maximillian.
- How popular is the name Maximillian in 2025?
- Maximillian ranks #1837 among US boy names in 2025, with 86 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Maximillian?
- About 1 in every 19,861 US boys born in 2025 was named Maximillian — 86 in all.
- Will my child share the name Maximillian with classmates?
- Maximillian will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Maximillian
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Olin#1837 · Aariz#1837 · Nile#1837 · Stephan#1837 · Lonnie#1837 · Artemis#1837 · Kennedy#1837 · Atreyu#1837
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Maximillian? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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