Meaning and history
Maxwell is a name derived from the Scottish surname Maxwell, meaning “Mack’s stream,” from Mack, a short form of the Scandinavian name Magnus, combined with Old English wille, meaning “well” or “stream.” A notable bearer of the surname was James Maxwell (1831–1879), the Scottish physicist known for his work on gases and electromagnetism. As a given name, Maxwell has become more popular since the 1980s, likely because it is seen as a fuller form of Max.
20062006: 2,792 births, rank #149
2007: 2,713 births, rank #153
2008: 3,058 births, rank #134
2009: 3,080 births, rank #132
2010: 3,015 births, rank #133
20112011: 3,056 births, rank #132
2012: 3,233 births, rank #113
2013: 3,643 births, rank #108
2014: 3,739 births, rank #107
2015: 3,553 births, rank #113
20162016: 3,585 births, rank #111
2017: 3,081 births, rank #133
2018: 2,907 births, rank #134
2019: 2,637 births, rank #147
2020: 2,513 births, rank #146
20212021: 2,380 births, rank #162
2022: 2,183 births, rank #173
2023: 1,992 births, rank #182
2024: 2,024 births, rank #182
20252025: 1,924 births, rank #189
Maxwell moved from #182 to #189 for boys between 2024 and 2025. Its highest annual birth count came in 2014, with 3,739 births.