The name Axel is a girl's name meaning "father of peace".

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

Top Baby Names 2024 Revealed!

Top Baby Names 2024: The Playground Analysis

200 Best Twin Boy Names 2026

Top Baby Names 2025: The Playground Analysis

Backwards Names Have Hidden Meaning

Film Noir Names

Why Names Starting with A Rank #1

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

The name Axel peaked for girls at #6574 in 2017. Axel is also used for boys, ranking #79 in 2025.

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

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 4245 boys in the US in a recent year, 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

Hispanic Baby Names

Cool Baby Names for Girls and Boys

Names All Your Friends Will Think Are Cool

Best Two Syllable Names

Magic Names

Attitude Names for Boys

Badass Dog Names 

Mexican Baby Names

Baby Names Everyone Thinks Are Cool

Bold Boy Names

Boy Names Dads Like More Than Moms

Nameberry's Top Boy Names of the 2010s

Boy Names Kids Consider Cool

Badass Baby Names

Film Noir Baby Names

Top 2020s Baby Names

Baby Name Favorites Right Now

Names That Feel Exotic Yet Simple

German Shepherd Names

Husky Names

X Factor Baby Names

Christmas Names

Celebrity Baby Names

Cool Dog Names

 Two Syllable Boy Names

Great Dane Names

Names with Good Meanings

Boy Names That Start With a Vowel

Cool Boy Names

June Names

Badass Boy Names

Boy Names That Peaked in 2018

Cool Cat Names

Names That Mean Mother or Father

German Dog Names

Classic Celebrity Baby Names

Designer Baby Names

Traveling Lite Baby Names

Doberman Names

Mystical Cat Names

Celebrity Baby Boy Names

Trendy Celebrity Baby Names

Bad Boy Names

Literary Names for Boys

Badass Boy Dog Names

Spring Baby Names

Top 100 Boy Names 2024

Names With Lots of Spellings

German

Scandinavian

Nameberry

Canada

Future

England

France

Spain

Mexico

Sweden

Iceland

The name Axel is currently ranked #79 in U.S. births. and peaked for boys at #71 in 2023. The name is most popular in AXEL, AXEL, and AXEL. Axel is occasionally used for girls in 2025.

Absalom

Axel

About Axel

Similar names

Axel in blog posts

Axel on more lists

Advanced Search

Save Axel