Two Syllable Names for Girls

Girl Dog Names That Start With A

Dog Names That Start With A

Animal Names for Girls

4 Letter Girl Names

Names Ending in L for Girls

Names That Mean Peace

Names That Mean Father

Names That Mean Variation

Sibling Names: The Ultimate Guide

12 Boy Names That Deserve More Love

New International Names: A World Of Possibility

Adorable Names That Start With A

Backwards Names Have Hidden Meaning

How I Named My Baby: Cleo Cruize

June Baby Names Welcome the Summer!

Transforming Top to Uncommon Male Dog Names

How to Choose Anagram Names for Large Families

Top 100 Boy Names of 2014

French Names: From Lilou to Lazare

Give Me a Name with Swagger and Sass

1980’s Baby Names: Heavy Metal names still rock

Baby Names of 1912: Hester, Chester & Sylvester

Names Meaning Peace: From Axel to Zuelia

Film Noir Names

12 Ever-Cool Boy Names

Science Geek Chic Names: Biology Department

Scandinavian Boy Names Hit the Sweet Spot

Scandinavian Names That Are Ready to Travel the World

Most Popular Baby Names 2020…so far

Lego Baby Names: Axl to Zane

100 Brilliant Boy Names in Translation

200 Best Twin Boy Names 2025

Transforming Top to Uncommon Boy Names

Let Us Name Your Baby: Cross-cultural Names With Anime References

Wild Names You'll Hear a Lot More Of

A Top 100 name among boys, but a rare option for a girl. The French female form is Axelle (emphasis on the "elle").

Dog Names

Dog Names That Mean Calm

Boy Names for Girls

Axel

Nameberry

Names that Peaked in 2001

German Names

Scandinavian Names for Boys

German Names for Boys

4 Letter Boy Names

Names Ending in L for Boys

Names that Peaked in 2018

Two Syllable Names for Boys

Names that Peaked in 2019

Names that Peaked in 2020

Scandinavian Names

Boy Dog Names That Start With A

Animal Names for Boys

Names that Peaked in 2023

German Names that Start With A

Scandinavian Names that Start With A

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). With its distinctive letter 'x', it has an effortlessly cool vibe about it, and is currently growing in popularity.
 
Axel is the 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. More wearable than its derivation, perhaps, Axel is currently ranks in the Top 100 names for boys in the US, the UK, Sweden, France, Spain, and Norway. 
 In the US, it first entered the popularity charts in 1989, one year after the release of one of Guns N' Roses biggest hits, showing just how influential popular culture can can be.
 More recently, 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 again, was the name of an important character in Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth. 
 
A bit like a updated Alex, Axel was given to 4500 babies in the US in 2023, so if it was an undiscovered gem you were after, you could consider Absalom itself, or perhaps another Scandinavian option, such as Anker, Konrad, Torfinn, or Torkell.

Baby Names So Far In They're Out

Christmas Names for Pets

Cool Baby Names for Girls and Boys

Names All Your Friends Will Think Are Cool

Best Two Syllable Names

Attitude Names for Boys

Badass Dog Names 

Mexican Baby Names

Classic Celebrity Baby Names

Baby Names Everyone Thinks Are Cool

Bold Boy Names

Boy Names Dads Like More Than Moms

Baby Name Favorites Right Now

Nameberry's Top Boy Names of the 2010s

Boy Names Kids Consider Cool

Badass Baby Names

Film Noir Baby Names

Top 2020s Baby Names

German Shepherd Names

X Factor Baby Names

Designer Baby Names

Husky Names

Celebrity Baby Names

Cool Dog Names

Hispanic Baby Names

 Two Syllable Boy Names

Literary Names for Boys

Great Dane Names

Names with Good Meanings

Boy Names That Start With a Vowel

Cool Boy Names

Badass Boy Names

Boy Names That Peaked in 2018

Cool Cat Names

June Names

German Dog Names

Doberman Names

Magic Names

Mystical Cat Names

Spring Baby Names

Trendy Celebrity Baby Names

Bad Boy Names

Traveling Lite Baby Names

Names That Mean Mother or Father

Badass Boy Dog Names

Celebrity Baby Boy Names

Christmas Names

Names With Lots of Spellings

German

Scandinavian

Canada

Future

England

Scotland

France

Spain

Mexico

Sweden

Norway

Iceland

Switzerland

Dogs

Absalom

Axel

Axel Origin and Meaning

Popularity of the name Axel

20 Names Similar to Axel

The name Axel in Nameberry Blog Posts