Axel
2025 SSA
2025 SSA
About Axel
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 for boys#79 US
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.
Axel for girls#11077 US
A Top 100 name among boys, but a rare option for a girl. The French female form is Axelle (emphasis on the "elle").
Pronounced AHK-sel.
As of October 2026, Axel ranked #79 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #71 in 2023, Nameberry popularity #222.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #145 | 2,804 | 1,459.8 |
| 2015 | #123 | 3,248 | 1,694.5 |
| 2016 | #116 | 3,467 | 1,826.9 |
| 2017 | #104 | 3,789 | 2,047.1 |
| 2018 | #94 | 4,072 | 2,242.1 |
| 2019 | #84 | 4,504 | 2,510.3 |
| 2020 | #72 | 4,666 | 2,703.2 |
| 2021 | #76 | 4,538 | 2,593.9 |
| 2022 | #77 | 4,342 | 2,486.8 |
| 2023 | #71 | 4,520 | 2,642.4 |
| 2024 | #78 | 4,245 | 2,463.9 |
| 2025 | #79 | 4,140 | 2,423.8 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 40 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Axel.
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Axel on lists
Famous Axels
- Axel SpringerBoy
German journalist and publisher
- (Hans) Axel von Fersen the YoungerBoy
Swedish soldier and statesman; lover of Marie Antoinette of France
- Axel Gustafsson OxenstiernaBoy
Count of Södermöre, Swedish statesman
- Axel Patricio Fernando Witteveen PardoBoy
Argentine singer,songwriter
- Axel Laurent Angel Lambert WitselBoy
Belgian footballer
- Axel BraunsBoy
German writer and filmmaker
- Axel Rodrigues de ArrudaBoy
Brazilian footballer
- Axel Cristóbal JodorowskyBoy
Chilean,British actor
- Axel KicillofBoy
Argentine economist and politician
- Axel ReymondBoy
French marathon swimmer
- Axel TuanzebeBoy
Congolese,British footballer
- Axel Rudi PellBoy
German guitarist of band Steeler
- Axel Nelson (b. 1990)Boy
son of actor John Allen Nelson
- Axel SaintBoy
Germain,Rousseau (b. 2008), son of actor Stéphane Rousseau
- Axel Nurmenkari (b. 2009)Boy
son of figure skater Ari,Pekka Nurmenkari
- Axel Paulin Ferrell (b. 2010)Boy
son of actor Will Ferrell
- Axel Lee McElhenney (b. 2010)Boy
son of actors Kaitlin Olson and Robert Dale McElhenney
- Axel Eaves (b. 2013)Boy
son of ice hockey player Patrick Eaves
- Axel Bridges Willis (b. 2015)Boy
son of TV fitness trainers Michelle Bridges and Steve Willis
- Axel Rain Green (b. 2016)Boy
son of ice hockey player Mike Green
- Axel James Brush (b. 2017)Boy
son of American reality television star Maddie Brown Brush
- Axel Strahl Meyers (b.2018)Boy
son of comedian Seth Meyers and Alexi Ashe
- Axel Charles Bale (b. 2018)Boy
son of footballer Gareth Bale
- Charlie Axel Woods (b. 2009)Boy
son of golfer Tiger Woods
- Richard AxelBoy
American biologist; winner of the Nobel Prize
- Axel AuriantBoy
French Actor
Axel in pop culture
- Axel MortmainBoy
Character in 'The Infernal Devices' Series by Cassandra Clare
- Axel von dem BuscheBoy
character in film "The Plot to Kill Hitler"
- AxelBoy
minor character on TV's "The Walking Dead"
- Axël d'AuerspergBoy
main character in play "Axël" by Auguste Villiers de l'Isle,Adam
- AxelBoy
deceased king in the "Blood of Kings" trilogy by Jill Williamson
- AxelBoy
character in video game "Kingdom Hearts"
- Axel HeckBoy
eldest son on TV's 'The Middle'
- AxelBoy
main character in Jules Verne's A Journey to the Center of the Earth
- Axel RexBoy
character in Vladimir Nabokov's "Laughter in the Dark"
- Axel HeystBoy
character in Joseph Conrad's "Victory"
- Axel FoleyBoy
leading character in the film Beverly Hills Cop
- Axel ThurstonBoy
character in the anime series Eureka Seven
- Axel BrodieBoy
character in Yu,Gi,Oh! GX
- Axel PalmerBoy
character in the 1981 film My Bloody Valentine and remake
- AxelBoy
playable character from the Twisted Metal vehicular combat video game series
- AxelBoy
elephant character from the Animal Crossing video game series
- AxelBoy
playable character from the Crazy Taxi series
- AxelBoy
character in the Suikoden game series
- AxelBoy
Guardian of The Sanctuary of Water and Ice in Rayman 2: The Great Escape
- AxelBoy
"Dark Hero", a character from the video game Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories
- Axel DarkBoy
Key, villain of Ape Escape Million Monkeys
- Axel HawkBoy
character from the video game series Fatal Fury
- Axel SteelBoy
character in the Guitar Hero video game series
- Axel StoneBoy
character from the Streets of Rage video game series
- Axel jumpBoy
type of jump in figure skating
- Axel Download AcceleratorBoy
download manager for Linux
- Axel Walker aka TricksterBoy
character on TV's "The Flash"
- AxelBoy
character in the game "Minecraft Story Mode"
- Axel JordacheBoy
character in Irwin Shaw's "Rich Man, Poor Man"
- AxelBoy
Netherlands
- Prince AxelBoy
older brother to the character Prince Hugo in the Disney Junior TV series "Sofia the First"