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Axel

Heart
Scandinavian variation of Absalom
"father of peace"

Axel Origin and Meaning

The name Axel is a boy's name of German, Scandinavian origin meaning "father of peace".

A classic in its native Scandinavia, Axel has a cool rock 'n' roll flavor in the US, thanks to Guns N' Roses' Axl Rose (born William). Axel is a popular Scandinavian form of the Biblical Absalom, who was a son of King David, and is the name of the title character of William Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom.

Growing in popularity, along with a lot of other names featuring the powerful letter 'x', Axel is now one of the most popular Scandinavian names. It entered the popularity list in 1989, one year after the release of one of Guns N' Roses biggest hits. It is very popular in Scandinavia, Germany and France.

Axel was chosen by Will Ferrell for his third son, and also by Rob McElhenney and Kaitlin Olson for their boys, and it's the middle name of Tiger Woods' boy Charlie. Axel Foley was the character played by Eddie Murphy in the Beverly Hills Cop movies and, going further back, was the name of an important character in Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth. Currently, Axel Heck is the oldest son on The Middle.

# 77 in the US

Axel Rank in US Top 1000

# 216 on Nameberry

Axel Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Axel Popularity

20 Names Similar to Axel

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Axel.

Famous People Named Axel

  • Axel SpringerGerman journalist and publisher
  • (Hans) Axel von Fersen the YoungerSwedish soldier and statesman; lover of Marie Antoinette of France
  • Axel Gustafsson OxenstiernaCount of Södermöre, Swedish statesman
  • Axel Patricio Fernando Witteveen PardoArgentine singer,songwriter
  • Axel Laurent Angel Lambert WitselBelgian footballer
  • Axel BraunsGerman writer and filmmaker
  • Axel Rodrigues de ArrudaBrazilian footballer
  • Axel Cristóbal JodorowskyChilean,British actor
  • Axel KicillofArgentine economist and politician
  • Axel ReymondFrench marathon swimmer
  • Axel TuanzebeCongolese,British footballer
  • Axel Rudi PellGerman guitarist of band Steeler
  • Axel Nelson (b. 1990)son of actor John Allen Nelson
  • Axel SaintGermain,Rousseau (b. 2008), son of actor Stéphane Rousseau
  • Axel Nurmenkari (b. 2009)son of figure skater Ari,Pekka Nurmenkari
  • Axel Paulin Ferrell (b. 2010)son of actor Will Ferrell
  • Axel Lee McElhenney (b. 2010)son of actors Kaitlin Olson and Robert Dale McElhenney
  • Axel Eaves (b. 2013)son of ice hockey player Patrick Eaves
  • Axel Bridges Willis (b. 2015)son of TV fitness trainers Michelle Bridges and Steve Willis
  • Axel Rain Green (b. 2016)son of ice hockey player Mike Green
  • Axel James Brush (b. 2017)son of American reality television star Maddie Brown Brush
  • Axel Strahl Meyers (b.2018)son of comedian Seth Meyers and Alexi Ashe
  • Axel Charles Bale (b. 2018)son of footballer Gareth Bale
  • Charlie Axel Woods (b. 2009)son of golfer Tiger Woods
  • Richard AxelAmerican biologist; winner of the Nobel Prize
  • Axel AuriantFrench Actor

Axel in Pop Culture

  • Axel MortmainCharacter in 'The Infernal Devices' Series by Cassandra Clare
  • Axel von dem Buschecharacter in film "The Plot to Kill Hitler"
  • Axelminor character on TV's "The Walking Dead"
  • Axël d'Auerspergmain character in play "Axël" by Auguste Villiers de l'Isle,Adam
  • Axeldeceased king in the "Blood of Kings" trilogy by Jill Williamson
  • Axelcharacter in video game "Kingdom Hearts"
  • Axel Heckeldest son on TV's 'The Middle'
  • Axelmain character in Jules Verne's A Journey to the Center of the Earth
  • Axel Rexcharacter in Vladimir Nabokov's "Laughter in the Dark"
  • Axel Heystcharacter in Joseph Conrad's "Victory"
  • Axel Foleyleading character in the film Beverly Hills Cop
  • Axel Thurstoncharacter in the anime series Eureka Seven
  • Axel Brodiecharacter in Yu,Gi,Oh! GX
  • Axel Palmercharacter in the 1981 film My Bloody Valentine and remake
  • Axelplayable character from the Twisted Metal vehicular combat video game series
  • Axelelephant character from the Animal Crossing video game series
  • Axelplayable character from the Crazy Taxi series
  • Axelcharacter in the Suikoden game series
  • AxelGuardian of The Sanctuary of Water and Ice in Rayman 2: The Great Escape
  • Axel"Dark Hero", a character from the video game Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories
  • Axel DarkKey, villain of Ape Escape Million Monkeys
  • Axel Hawkcharacter from the video game series Fatal Fury
  • Axel Steelcharacter in the Guitar Hero video game series
  • Axel Stonecharacter from the Streets of Rage video game series
  • Axel jumptype of jump in figure skating
  • Axel Download Acceleratordownload manager for Linux
  • Axel Walker aka Trickstercharacter on TV's "The Flash"
  • Axelcharacter in the game "Minecraft Story Mode"
  • Axel Jordachecharacter in Irwin Shaw's "Rich Man, Poor Man"
  • AxelNetherlands
  • Prince Axelolder brother to the character Prince Hugo in the Disney Junior TV series "Sofia the First"