Maxwell
Top 1000
About Maxwell
A happy medium between the weighty Maximilian and the laid-back Max, Maxwell is one of the most classic and attractive Scottish names. Early influences on the name's revival include Maxwell Smart of the television show, and then movie, Get Smart, and the Beatles song about Maxwell's Silver Hammer.
Lance Armstrong chose it for his son, but there was a sharp and unexpected gender switch when both Jessica Simpson and Lindsay Sloane both chose it for their daughters. Still, in the US baby boy Maxwells outnumber baby girls 50 to 1.
Pronounced MAX-wel.
As of October 2026, Maxwell ranked #189 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #106 in 1999, Nameberry popularity #121.
Editor's take: The name Maxwell is a boy's name of Scottish origin meaning "great stream".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #107 | 3,739 | 1,946.5 |
| 2015 | #113 | 3,553 | 1,853.7 |
| 2016 | #111 | 3,584 | 1,888.6 |
| 2017 | #133 | 3,081 | 1,664.5 |
| 2018 | #134 | 2,906 | 1,600.1 |
| 2019 | #147 | 2,637 | 1,469.7 |
| 2020 | #146 | 2,513 | 1,455.9 |
| 2021 | #162 | 2,380 | 1,360.4 |
| 2022 | #173 | 2,183 | 1,250.3 |
| 2023 | #182 | 1,992 | 1,164.5 |
| 2024 | #182 | 2,021 | 1,173 |
| 2025 | #189 | 1,924 | 1,126.4 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Maxwell.
- Calvin
- Jonah
- Wesley
- Lewis
- Harrison
- Jonas
- Abree
- Spencer
- Harvey
- Colin
- Elliott
- Malcolm
- Jesse
- Dean
- Seth
- Simon
- Judah
- Grant
- Max
- Clark
Maxwell on lists
Famous Maxwells
- Maxwell Davenport "Max" Taylor
U.S. general; chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
- Maxwell (born Gerald Maxwell Rivera)
American R&B singer
- (James) Maxwell Anderson
American playwright
- Maxwell Perry Cotton
American actor
- Maxwell Caulfield
English actor
- Maxwell Huckabee
American actor
- Maxwell Scott "Max" Green
American musician of band Escape the Fate
- Maxwell MacAlister "Max" Brown
Australian novelist and journalist
- Maxwell Geoffrey "Max" Hoffman (b. 1984)
son of actor Dustin Hoffman
- Maxwell "Max" Reinhart (b. 1992)
Canadian ice hockey player; son of hockey player Paul Reinhart
- Maxwell Aston (b. 1991)
son of singers Marcella Detroit and Lance Aston
- Maxwell Vincent McMahon (b. 2002)
son of actress Martha Byrne and Michael McMahon
- Maxwell Ross Goldman (b. 2003)
son of actress Charlotte Ross and Michael Goldman
- Maxwell Elliot Campbell (b. 2004)
son of actor Larry Joe Campbell; twin sister Madelyne Kaye
- Maxwell Rogers (b. 2006)
son of model Chloe Maxwell and rugby leaguer Mat Rogers
- Maxwell Mark Croft (b. 2008)
son of English singer and media personality Kerry Katona
- Maxwell Edward Armstrong (b. 2009)
son of former American professional cyclist Lance Armstrong
- Maxwell Ming Hollick (b. 2010)
son of actors Michael Hollick and Angela Tsai
- Maxwell Haze Richardson (b. 2013)
son of singer Kevin Richardson of the Backstreet Boys
- Maxwell Enosata Linus (b. 2015)
son of actress Stephanie Okereke Linus
- Maxwell Joseph Stepan (b. 2015)
son of ice hockey player Derek Stepan
- Maxwell Roland Samuel Baldoni (b.2017)
son of actors Justin and Emily Baldoni
- Maxwell Jenkins
child actor portrays Will Robinson in "Lost In Space"
Maxwell in pop culture
- Maxwell Sheffield
character on TV's "The Nanny"
- Maxwell
character in film "Across the Universe"
- Maxwell "Max" Smart
main character on TV's "Get Smart"
- Maxwell Lord
name of a few characters in DC Comics
- Maxwell Lightwood
character in the Mortal Instruments series
- Maxwell "Max" Evans
character on TV's "Roswell"
- Maxwell Klinger
character on TV's "M.A.S.H."
- Maxwell
character in "Camp Camp"
- "Maxwell's Silver Hammer
" song by The Beatles
- Maxwell
main protagonist of the video game series "Scribblenauts"