Axel

Scandinavian variation of Absalom

"father of peace"

Axel Origin and Meaning

The name Axel is a boy's name of German, Scandinavian origin meaning "father of peace".

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 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 4500 babies in the US in 2023, 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 Rank in US Top 1000

# 72 in the US

Axel Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 151 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Axel

• 72 US 2023
• 151 Nameberry 2025
• 104 Canada 2023
• 54 Future 2028
• 109 England 2023
• 130 Scotland 2024
• 47 France 2023
• 80 Spain 2023
• 38 Mexico 2021
• 39 Sweden 2024
• 8 Norway 2015
• 48 Iceland 2014
• 132 Switzerland 2023
• 89 Dogs 2021

20 Names Similar to Axel

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Axel.

• Ace
• Maverick
• Xander
• Zane
• Zion
• Jax
• Nico
• Phoenix
• Hunter
• Aj
• Kane
• Ari
• Hendrix
• Ryder
• Jett
• Roman
• Ash
• Enzo
• Gray
• Zander

Famous People Named Axel

• Axel Springer German journalist and publisher
• (Hans) Axel von Fersen the Younger Swedish soldier and statesman; lover of Marie Antoinette of France
• Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna Count of Södermöre, Swedish statesman
• Axel Patricio Fernando Witteveen Pardo Argentine singer,songwriter
• Axel Laurent Angel Lambert Witsel Belgian footballer
• Axel Brauns German writer and filmmaker
• Axel Rodrigues de Arruda Brazilian footballer
• Axel Cristóbal Jodorowsky Chilean,British actor
• Axel Kicillof Argentine economist and politician
• Axel Reymond French marathon swimmer
• Axel Tuanzebe Congolese,British footballer
• Axel Rudi Pell German guitarist of band Steeler
• Axel Nelson (b. 1990) son of actor John Allen Nelson
• Axel Saint Germain,Rousseau (b. 2008), son of actor Stéphane Rousseau
• Axel Nurmenkari (b. 2009) son of figure skater Ari,Pekka Nurmenkari
• Axel Paulin Ferrell (b. 2010) son of actor Will Ferrell
• Axel Lee McElhenney (b. 2010) son of actors Kaitlin Olson and Robert Dale McElhenney
• Axel Eaves (b. 2013) son of ice hockey player Patrick Eaves
• Axel Bridges Willis (b. 2015) son of TV fitness trainers Michelle Bridges and Steve Willis
• Axel Rain Green (b. 2016) son of ice hockey player Mike Green
• Axel James Brush (b. 2017) son of American reality television star Maddie Brown Brush
• Axel Strahl Meyers (b.2018) son of comedian Seth Meyers and Alexi Ashe
• Axel Charles Bale (b. 2018) son of footballer Gareth Bale
• Charlie Axel Woods (b. 2009) son of golfer Tiger Woods
• Richard Axel American biologist; winner of the Nobel Prize
• Axel Auriant French Actor

The name Axel in Pop Culture

• Axel Mortmain Character in 'The Infernal Devices' Series by Cassandra Clare
• Axel von dem Busche character in film "The Plot to Kill Hitler"
• Axel minor character on TV's "The Walking Dead"
• Axël d'Auersperg main character in play "Axël" by Auguste Villiers de l'Isle,Adam
• Axel deceased king in the "Blood of Kings" trilogy by Jill Williamson
• Axel character in video game "Kingdom Hearts"
• Axel Heck eldest son on TV's 'The Middle'
• Axel main character in Jules Verne's A Journey to the Center of the Earth
• Axel Rex character in Vladimir Nabokov's "Laughter in the Dark"
• Axel Heyst character in Joseph Conrad's "Victory"
• Axel Foley leading character in the film Beverly Hills Cop
• Axel Thurston character in the anime series Eureka Seven
• Axel Brodie character in Yu,Gi,Oh! GX
• Axel Palmer character in the 1981 film My Bloody Valentine and remake
• Axel playable character from the Twisted Metal vehicular combat video game series
• Axel elephant character from the Animal Crossing video game series
• Axel playable character from the Crazy Taxi series
• Axel character in the Suikoden game series
• Axel Guardian of The Sanctuary of Water and Ice in Rayman 2: The Great Escape
• Axel "Dark Hero", a character from the video game Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories
• Axel Dark Key, villain of Ape Escape Million Monkeys
• Axel Hawk character from the video game series Fatal Fury
• Axel Steel character in the Guitar Hero video game series
• Axel Stone character from the Streets of Rage video game series
• Axel jump type of jump in figure skating
• Axel Download Accelerator download manager for Linux
• Axel Walker aka Trickster character on TV's "The Flash"
• Axel character in the game "Minecraft Story Mode"
• Axel Jordache character in Irwin Shaw's "Rich Man, Poor Man"
• Axel Netherlands
• Prince Axel older brother to the character Prince Hugo in the Disney Junior TV series "Sofia the First"

International Variations of the name Axel

• Aksel Norwegian
• Akseli Finnish