Max
Top 1000
About Max
Max was derived from Maximilian, a Latin name that originated from the Roman family name Maximus. The character name Max in the children's classic Where the Wild Things Are had an impact on baby namers. Max is a widely used name internationally.
Max was transformed from cigar-chomping grandpa to rosy-cheeked baby in the 1980s, along with card-playing partners Sam and Jake. Never quite as popular as it seemed, Max is now close to the the highest it's been on the Social Security list since 1917, after which German-sounding names went out of favor.
Max has been a popular starbaby name for decades, most recently for the sons of Christina Aguilera, Cynthia Nixon and Charlie Sheen, while other celebs, such as Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, have used more formal appellations--Maximilian, Maxwell, Maxfield--on the birth certificate to get to the nickname Max. Skater Scott Hamilton put his own spin on it by maximizing the spelling of his son's name to Maxx.
Warning: Max has long been among the most popular dog names.
As of October 2026, Max ranked #180 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #96 in 2011, Nameberry popularity #92.
Editor's take: The name Max is a boy's name of German, English, Aboriginal origin meaning "greatest".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #112 | 3,497 | 1,820.5 |
| 2015 | #118 | 3,419 | 1,783.8 |
| 2016 | #118 | 3,423 | 1,803.7 |
| 2017 | #128 | 3,145 | 1,699.1 |
| 2018 | #136 | 2,877 | 1,584.1 |
| 2019 | #137 | 2,752 | 1,533.8 |
| 2020 | #147 | 2,484 | 1,439.1 |
| 2021 | #160 | 2,410 | 1,377.6 |
| 2022 | #157 | 2,388 | 1,367.7 |
| 2023 | #163 | 2,201 | 1,286.7 |
| 2024 | #175 | 2,120 | 1,230.5 |
| 2025 | #180 | 2,025 | 1,185.5 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Max.
Famous Maxs
- Max Emilian Verstappen
Dutch Formula 1 Driver
- Karl Emil Maximilian "Max" Weber
German sociologist
- Max Becker
guitarist in rock band SWMRS
- Carl Adolf "Max" von Sydow
Swedish actor
- Max Greenfield
American actor
- Maximillian Kolenda "Max" Pacioretty
American ice hockey player
- Maximillion Drake "Max" Thieriot
American actor
- Maximillian Weisner "Max" Starks IV
American NFL football player
- Maxwell McCandless "Max" Unger
American NFL football player
- Maximillian Alberto "Max" George
English singer of The Wanted
- Max Changmin
South Korean singer of duo TVXQ
- Max Lloyd
Jones, American actor
- Max Charles
American actor
- Max Stanley
aka Maxmoefoe, Australian YouTuber
- Max Carver (born Robert Maxwell Martensen)
American actor; twin brother Charlie Carver
- Max Perlich
American actor
- Maxwell M. "Max" Scherzer
American baseball player
- Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck
German theoretical physicist; Nobel Prize winner
- Max Born
German physicist and mathematician; Nobel prize winner
- Max Theodor Felix von Laue
German physicist; Nobel prize winner
- Max Ludwig Henning Delbrück
German,ÂÂAmerican biophysicist; Nobel prize winner
- Max Riemelt
German actor
- Max Factor (born Maksymilian Faktorowicz)
Polish,Jewish founder of cosmetics giant Max Factor & Company
- Max Brooks
son of actors Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft
- Max Bernstein
son of screenwriter Nora Ephron and journalist Carl Bernstein
- Max Fuse
son of actress Olivia Hussey and musician Akira Fuse
- Max Samuel Spielberg
son of film director Steven Spielberg
- Max Todd
son of reality TV personality Lisa Vanderpump and Ken Todd
- Max Cohn
son of singer Marc Cohn
- Maxwell J. "Max" Heard
late son of actor John Heard
- Max Greathouse Allen
son of Kara Kennedy; grandson of Sen. Ted Kennedy
- Max McGinley
son of actor John McGinley
- Max Favreau
son of actor Jon Favreau
- Max Whitfield
son of singer Patricia Lewis and Mark Whitfield
- Max Ullrich (b. 2007)
son of cyclist Jan Ullrich
- Max Hugh Gorman (b. 2008)
son of actor Burn Gorman
- Max Liron Bratman (b. 2008)
son of singer Christina Aguilera and Jordan Bratman
- Maxwell Mark "Max" Croft (b. 2008)
son of singer Kerry Katona and Mark Croft
- Max Sheen (b. 2009)
son of actor Charlie Sheen
- Max Aaron Gottfried (b. 2009)
son of comedian Gilbert Gottfried
- Max Schmeichel (b. 2010)
son of footballer Kasper Schmeichel
- Max Corden (b. 2011)
son of TV host James Corden
- Max Ellington Nixon
Marinoni (b. 2011), son of actress Cynthia Nixon
- Max Wilde Presnall (b. 2012)
son of musicians Derek and Jamie Presnall
- Max Neville Ling (b. 2012)
son of AFL player Cameron Ling
- Max O'Gara (b. 2014)
son of rugby union player Ronan O'Gara
- Max Red Caspe (b. 2015)
son of actress Casey Wilson
- Max Bowie Band (b. 2016)
son of singer Alex Band of The Calling
- Max Kerman
lead singer of the Arkells
- Max Miller
comedian
- Max Rainier Casiraghi (b.2018)
son of Andrea Casiraghi and Tatiana Santo Domingo
- Max Walker Lauren (b.2018)
son of David and Lauren Bush Lauren. Great,grandson of George H.W. and Barbara Bush.
- Max Mario Fletcher (b. 2018)
son of singer Tom Fletcher & author Giovanna Fletcher.
- Max Charles Murphy (b. 2018)
son of American comedian and actor Eddie Murphy
- Max Milo Peck (b. 2018)
son of American actor and comedian Josh Peck
Max in pop culture
- Maximiliano (Max) Keller
main male character in Scarlett Avery’s book “Undeniable Fascination”.
- Max
main character in Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are"
- Max
dog in Dr. Seuss' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"
- "Mad Max" Rockatansky
main character in the "Mad Max" movie series
- Max Bialystock
main character in movie and musical "The Producers"
- Max Fischer
main character in movie "Rushmore"
- Max
character of Canadian dance show "The Next Step"
- Max
rabbit character on animated series "Max and Ruby"
- Max
character on animated series "Dragon Tales"
- Max Evans
character on TV's "Roswell"
- Max Blum
character on TV's "Happy Endings"
- Max Branning
character on British soap "EastEnders"
- Max Miller
psychic on early season of "Supernatural"
- Max de la Costa
character in movie "Elysium"
- Max
main character in movie "Sharkboy and Lavagirl"
- Maxwell "Max" Smart
main character on TV's "Get Smart"
- Max Thunderman
character on TV's "The Thundermans"
- Maximillion "Max" Galactica
character in video game "Ace Attorney"
- Max
character on TV's "24"
- Max
character in Comet Man comics
- Max
talking spaceship in movie "Flight of the Navigator"
- Max
character in the Pokemon animated series
- Max
rabbit character in the Sam & Max series
- Max Vandenburg
character in Markus Zusak's "The Book Thief"
- Max Britsky
main character in "Max" by Howard Fast
- Max Rhaymer
character from the 2016 TV movie "Backstabbed"
- Max Factor
cosmetic company
- Max
main character in the Rooster Teeth animated series "Camp Camp"
- Maximilian 'Max' Miller
character from Netflix's "Greenhouse Academy"
- Max Kante
character from "Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir"
- Max Fuller
character on Netflix,series "Fuller House"
- Max Goldman
character in the 1993 film "Grumpy Old Men" & the 1995 sequel "Grumpier Old Men"
- Max Rigel
character in the Zodiac Academy series