Maximus
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The story
Maximus is Latin for greatest, and its American record contains a dated hinge of almost unmatched sharpness: 34 boys in the 1990s, then 8,618 in the 2000s, two hundred fifty times over, on the far side of a single May 2000 release in which a Roman general with this name asked a colosseum whether it was not entertained. Decade buckets point, they do not convict, but few coincidences in the record are this loud. The name held: about 18,700 in the 2010s, with 7,300 so far this decade, every one of them a boy. Max does the everyday work, as our nickname records note, and gives the grandeur an off-ramp. In our records: about 34,700 boys to 17 girls. Rome used the name for a thousand years before the movies found it; the superlative was always the point.
How popular is Maximus around the world?
In the United States, 7,333 babies were named Maximus between 2020 and 2025. In South Australia, 8 boys were registered as Maximus in 2017.
Maximus is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, England and Wales, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, Scotland, Chile, Austria, Poland, Argentina, Brazil and Spain.
United States
1 in 3,000
In the United States, 7,333 babies were named Maximus between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Maximus peaked in the 2010s. Maximus went to 2,071 US babies in 2015 and 1,249 in 2025, 60% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 2,3002017
In South Australia, 8 boys were registered as Maximus in 2017.
The count never rose above 8 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
England and Wales
1 in 2,600
In England and Wales, 228 boys named Maximus were born in 2025, the 219th most common name among boys that year.
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
Canada
1 in 3,500
In Canada, 104 boys named Maximus were born in 2024, the 317th most common name among boys that year.
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)
New Zealand
1 in 3,800
In New Zealand, 15 boys named Maximus were registered in 2025.
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
Ireland
1 in 5,400
In Ireland, 10 boys named Maximus were born in 2025, the 372nd most common name among boys that year.
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
Scotland
1 in 7,600
In Scotland, 6 boys named Maximus were registered in 2024, the 478th most common name among boys that year.
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
Chile
1 in 25,000
In Chile, 7 boys were registered as Maximus in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
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
Austria
1 in 38,000
In Austria, 2 boys named Maximus were born in 2025, ranked 1,241st among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
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)
Poland
1 in 62,000
In Poland, 4 boys named Maximus were born in 2025, the 490th most common name among boys that year.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.
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. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Argentina
1 in 83,000
In Argentina, 8 newborns were given the name Maximus in 2024.
The count never rose above 8 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
Brazil
1 in 330,000
At the 2022 census, 686 people in Brazil were named Maximus, ranked 10,751st, with a median age of 10.
Among people named Maximus living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 125 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. 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
Spain
1 in 860,000
In Spain, 52 residents are named Maximus, ranked 14,123rd among men, with a mean age of 10.9 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
Mexico City City
last on record 2020
Maximus is not on the 2022 record for Mexico City, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Not on the record in Puerto Rico: that registry withholds small counts, so rare uses may sit below its floor.
Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Maximus
Most people given the name Maximus 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.
Keep exploring
Names like Maximus · Names that go with Maximus · Nicknames for Maximus · Strong names · Climbers and fallers
The Maximus deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Maximus 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 Maximus fits with your family’s names and surname.
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