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Maximilian

boy name
Origin
Latin
Syllables
5
Peak era
2010s
Today
▬ Steady

Torn between Maximilian and another name? Compare them side by side →

Meaning

"greatest," from Latin maximus through the Roman name Maximilianus, borne by an early Christian saint long before the Habsburg emperors. Max is a familiar short form

Goes by Max. See all nicknames

Maximilian's name day is August 14, the feast of Saint Maximilian Kolbe in the Roman calendar of saints.

The story

Maximilian is Latin grandeur at full length, and unusually, we know the moment it went dynastic: in the fifteenth century Emperor Frederick III named his heir Maximilian, by one account blending two Roman commanders he admired, Fabius Maximus and Scipio Aemilianus, into a single name. The Habsburgs kept it close from then on, and one of them wore it to a tragic end as Emperor Maximilian of Mexico, executed in 1867, a scene Manet painted. The name's greatest bearer inverted its grandeur entirely. Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish Franciscan friar at Auschwitz, volunteered to take the place of a condemned fellow prisoner, Franciszek Gajowniczek, and the Church later declared Kolbe a saint. Cinema added Maximilian Schell and an Oscar for Judgment at Nuremberg. A name that means the greatest, and was redeemed by the bearer who chose to be least.

More names with stories →

Maximilian across languages

One shared root links 6 names across 4 languages.

Shared root: from Latin maximus "greatest", via the Roman name Maximilianus (a derivative of Maximus borne by a 3rd-century saint); the tale that it was coined for the Habsburg heir from Maximus + Aemilianus is legend; Max is the shared short form

The constellation

MaximilianGermanMaximilianoSpanish

More branches

MaximoSpanish · related formMaximRussian · related formMaxEnglish · short formMaxineEnglish · feminine form

Ways to honor Maximilian →

How popular is Maximilian around the world?

In the United States, 3,153 babies were named Maximilian between 2020 and 2025. In Austria, 607 boys named Maximilian were born in 2025, the 3rd most common name among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.

Maximilian is on the official records of the United States, Austria, Norway, England and Wales, Ireland, Poland, Scotland, South Australia, Canada, Chile, Mexico City, France, Spain, Argentina and Brazil.

United States

1 in 6,900

In the United States, 3,153 babies were named Maximilian between 2020 and 2025.

1890speak 2010s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Maximilian peaked in the 2010s.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

See the full list for the United States →

Austria

1 in 130

In Austria, 607 boys named Maximilian were born in 2025, the 3rd most common name among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.

1984peak 20092025

share of that year’s births on record

Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)

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Norway

1 in 2,100 · register 2026

In Norway, 13 boys were given the name Maximilian in 2025.

1980peak 2014

share of the boys on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure

People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)

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England and Wales

1 in 2,400

In England and Wales, 245 boys named Maximilian were born in 2025, the 206th most common name among boys that year.

1996peak 2018

share of that year’s name registrations

Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales

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Ireland

1 in 3,600

In Ireland, 15 boys named Maximilian were born in 2025, the 286th most common name among boys that year.

1990peak 2016

share of that year’s name registrations

Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names

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Poland

1 in 3,700

In Poland, 67 boys named Maximilian were born in 2025, the 150th most common name among boys that year.

2000peak 20152025

share of that year’s name registrations

First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Maximilian, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)

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Scotland

1 in 4,200

In Scotland, 11 boys named Maximilian were registered in 2024, the 330th most common name among boys that year.

1990peak 2016

share of that year’s name registrations

Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names

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South Australia

1 in 6,100 · 2017

In South Australia, 3 boys were registered as Maximilian in 2017.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.

Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names

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Canada

1 in 7,800

In Canada, 47 boys named Maximilian were born in 2024, the 585th most common name among boys that year.

1991peak 2016

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)

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Chile

1 in 18,000

In Chile, 10 boys were registered as Maximilian in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.

1960peak 2016

share of that year’s name registrations

First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021

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Mexico City City

1 in 39,000

In Mexico City, there were 3 registrations of Maximilian in 2022.

peak 20032022

share of that year’s registrations in the city

Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023

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France

1 in 64,000

In France, about 10 boys named Maximilian were born in 2025, ranked 2,870th among boys that year.

1900peak 2014

share of that year’s births on record

Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)

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Spain

1 in 78,000

In Spain, 577 residents are named Maximilian, ranked 2,074th among men, with a mean age of 20.3 years.

Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025

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Argentina

1 in 220,000

In Argentina, 3 newborns were given the name Maximilian in 2024.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.

Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024

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Brazil

1 in 500,000

At the 2022 census, 413 people in Brazil were named Maximilian, ranked 15,247th, with a median age of 32.
Among people named Maximilian living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.

1970speak 1990s2010s

people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth

People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022

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Montevideo City

last on record 2004

Maximilian is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.

Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial

See the full list for Montevideo →

New Zealand

last on record 2024

Maximilian is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.

2000peak 20142025

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time

See the full list for New Zealand →

Not on the record in Puerto Rico: that registry withholds small counts, so rare uses may sit below its floor.

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

When you meet Maximilian

Most people given the name Maximilian in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.

Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.

Names that fit alongside Maximilian

Oliver Ignacio August Aurelio Davi Octavius

Keep exploring

Names like Maximilian · Names that go with Maximilian · Nicknames for Maximilian · Middle names for Maximilian · German baby names · Saint names for babies and confirmation · Names of kings and queens

Name trails: explore connections from Maximilian →

The Maximilian deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Maximilian truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Maximilian fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

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