Maxine
Feminine · “greatest”
Maxine is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 115,612 girls against 377 boys since 1880.
Maxine is built on the Latin word for "greatest" — the Roman cognomen Maximus — dressed in the French feminine ending that also gave English Pauline, Nadine and Josephine. It moves quickly in the mouth: two syllables, the stress landing on that long, clean -een. And it comes with Max already inside it, a short form that needs no explaining.
How old is the name Maxine?
Maxine first appears in US birth records in 1884 — 141 years ago. The typical Maxine alive today was born around 1932, making them about 93 years old. About 40,000 people named Maxine are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Maxine most popular?
Maxine peaked in 1923, reaching #76 nationally. Today it ranks #496, 420 places below that high. See the whole 1923 chart.
Where it comes from
From Maximus to Maxine
The story of Maxine
Maximus began as a Roman cognomen and became a widely used name across the Latin-speaking world, later extended into Maximilianus and passed down as French Maxime and English Max. Maxine is the feminine built from that stem with -ine, the same French suffix at work in Pauline, Céline and Josephine — a pattern that produced a whole cluster of women's names in English-speaking countries. It settled into American use and has stayed on the books without a long gap since, which is why it now reads as an inherited name rather than a new one. The current upward drift puts it in company with Edith and other names of the same era that have come back around.
Meaning
greatest
From Latin maximus, "greatest", by way of Maximus and Maximilian; Maxine is the feminine formed with the French -ine suffix.
How the name formed
- Maximus
- Maximilianus
- Maxime
- Maxine
Related forms: Maxime · Maxima · Maximina · Maximiliane · Massimina · Maximilienne
Pronouncing Maxine
mak-SEEN
Stress on the second syllable. A first-syllable stress (MAX-een) is heard occasionally but is not the standard reading.
Nicknames for Maxine
High
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
- 1884
- Most girls named
- 19243,659 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #76reached in 1923
- Change vs 2022
- +23.6%597 in 2025, from 483
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.
Maxine in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Maxime in French — related form
- Maxima in Latin — related form
- Maximina in Spanish — related form
- Maximiliane in German — related form
- Massimina in Italian — related form
- Maximilienne in French — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Maxines among us
people named Maxine are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 2,692 born in 2025 was named Maxine
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 Beulah test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Maxine's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Beulah climbed just as high around 1903, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Beulah's path sketches the road Maxine is walking now.
Maxine 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 Maxine is headed
Maxine looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 25% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
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.
Maxine beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Maxine in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Comes with ready-made short forms: Max and Maxie both have long histories of real use.
- One dominant spelling, and an unambiguous one — most people write it correctly on first hearing.
- The Latin root is shared across French, Spanish, Italian and German, so relatives abroad will recognize the family of the name.
- An unbroken record in American use, which puts it among the inherited names rather than the invented ones.
- Most living Maxines are of the oldest generations, so many adults will place the name firmly with a grandmother or great-aunt. That is exactly what makes it feel fresh on a child, but expect the double-take.
- Maxene, Maxeen and Maxie all exist as separate spellings, so she may be asked to confirm hers on forms even though Maxine is the most common version.
- Max is now used for boys and girls both. If she goes by it day to day, the full name on paper will do the clarifying.
- It is rare enough right now that a classmate with the same name is unlikely — a plus for some families, a little lonely for others.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Maxine to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Maxine
Feminine · #496 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Maxines are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 40,000 people named Maxine are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Maxine in 2025?
- Maxine ranks #496 among US girl names in 2025, with 597 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Maxine?
- About 1 in every 2,692 US girls born in 2025 was named Maxine — 597 in all.
- Will my child share the name Maxine with classmates?
- Maxine will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Maxine
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Charli#496 · Solana#495 · Arlette#494 · Lakelynn#498 · Edith#499 · Amanda#493 · Bianca#500 · Mae#500
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Maxine? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Maxine and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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