Max

English and German diminutive of Maximilian or Maxwell
"greatest"

Max Origin and Meaning

The name Max is a boy's name of German, English, Aboriginal origin meaning "greatest".

Max was derived from Maximilian, a Latin name that originated from the Roman family name Maximus. The character name Max in the children's classic Where the Wild Things Are had an impact on baby namers. Max is a widely used name internationally.

Max was transformed from cigar-chomping grandpa to rosy-cheeked baby in the 1980s, along with card-playing partners Sam and Jake. Never quite as popular as it seemed, Max is now close to the the highest it's been on the Social Security list since 1917, after which German-sounding names went out of favor.

Max has been a popular starbaby name for decades, most recently for the sons of Christina Aguilera, Cynthia Nixon and Charlie Sheen, while other celebs, such as Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, have used more formal appellations--Maximilian, Maxwell, Maxfield--on the birth certificate to get to the nickname Max. Skater Scott Hamilton put his own spin on it by maximizing the spelling of his son's name to Maxx.

Warning: Max has long been among the most popular dog names.

# 163 in the US

Max Rank in US Top 1000

# 104 on Nameberry

Max Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Max Popularity

Famous People Named Max

  • Max Emilian Verstappen
    Dutch Formula 1 Driver
  • Karl Emil Maximilian "Max" Weber
    German sociologist
  • Max Becker
    guitarist in rock band SWMRS
  • Carl Adolf "Max" von Sydow
    Swedish actor
  • Max Greenfield
    American actor
  • Maximillian Kolenda "Max" Pacioretty
    American ice hockey player
  • Maximillion Drake "Max" Thieriot
    American actor
  • Maximillian Weisner "Max" Starks IV
    American NFL football player
  • Maxwell McCandless "Max" Unger
    American NFL football player
  • Maximillian Alberto "Max" George
    English singer of The Wanted
  • Max Changmin
    South Korean singer of duo TVXQ
  • Max Lloyd
    Jones, American actor
  • Max Charles
    American actor
  • Max Stanley
    aka Maxmoefoe, Australian YouTuber
  • Max Carver (born Robert Maxwell Martensen)
    American actor; twin brother Charlie Carver
  • Max Perlich
    American actor
  • Maxwell M. "Max" Scherzer
    American baseball player
  • Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck
    German theoretical physicist; Nobel Prize winner
  • Max Born
    German physicist and mathematician; Nobel prize winner
  • Max Theodor Felix von Laue
    German physicist; Nobel prize winner
  • Max Ludwig Henning Delbrück
    German,€“American biophysicist; Nobel prize winner
  • Max Riemelt
    German actor
  • Max Factor (born Maksymilian Faktorowicz)
    Polish,Jewish founder of cosmetics giant Max Factor & Company
  • Max Brooks
    son of actors Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft
  • Max Bernstein
    son of screenwriter Nora Ephron and journalist Carl Bernstein
  • Max Fuse
    son of actress Olivia Hussey and musician Akira Fuse
  • Max Samuel Spielberg
    son of film director Steven Spielberg
  • Max Todd
    son of reality TV personality Lisa Vanderpump and Ken Todd
  • Max Cohn
    son of singer Marc Cohn
  • Maxwell J. "Max" Heard
    late son of actor John Heard
  • Max Greathouse Allen
    son of Kara Kennedy; grandson of Sen. Ted Kennedy
  • Max McGinley
    son of actor John McGinley
  • Max Favreau
    son of actor Jon Favreau
  • Max Whitfield
    son of singer Patricia Lewis and Mark Whitfield
  • Max Ullrich (b. 2007)
    son of cyclist Jan Ullrich
  • Max Hugh Gorman (b. 2008)
    son of actor Burn Gorman
  • Max Liron Bratman (b. 2008)
    son of singer Christina Aguilera and Jordan Bratman
  • Maxwell Mark "Max" Croft (b. 2008)
    son of singer Kerry Katona and Mark Croft
  • Max Sheen (b. 2009)
    son of actor Charlie Sheen
  • Max Aaron Gottfried (b. 2009)
    son of comedian Gilbert Gottfried
  • Max Schmeichel (b. 2010)
    son of footballer Kasper Schmeichel
  • Max Corden (b. 2011)
    son of TV host James Corden
  • Max Ellington Nixon
    Marinoni (b. 2011), son of actress Cynthia Nixon
  • Max Wilde Presnall (b. 2012)
    son of musicians Derek and Jamie Presnall
  • Max Neville Ling (b. 2012)
    son of AFL player Cameron Ling
  • Max O'Gara (b. 2014)
    son of rugby union player Ronan O'Gara
  • Max Red Caspe (b. 2015)
    son of actress Casey Wilson
  • Max Bowie Band (b. 2016)
    son of singer Alex Band of The Calling
  • Max Kerman
    lead singer of the Arkells
  • Max Miller
    comedian
  • Max Rainier Casiraghi (b.2018)
    son of Andrea Casiraghi and Tatiana Santo Domingo
  • Max Walker Lauren (b.2018)
    son of David and Lauren Bush Lauren. Great,grandson of George H.W. and Barbara Bush.
  • Max Mario Fletcher (b. 2018)
    son of singer Tom Fletcher & author Giovanna Fletcher.
  • Max Charles Murphy (b. 2018)
    son of American comedian and actor Eddie Murphy
  • Max Milo Peck (b. 2018)
    son of American actor and comedian Josh Peck

Max in Pop Culture

  • Maximiliano (Max) Keller
    main male character in Scarlett Avery’s book “Undeniable Fascination”.
  • Max
    main character in Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are"
  • Max
    dog in Dr. Seuss' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"
  • "Mad Max" Rockatansky
    main character in the "Mad Max" movie series
  • Max Bialystock
    main character in movie and musical "The Producers"
  • Max Fischer
    main character in movie "Rushmore"
  • Max
    character of Canadian dance show "The Next Step"
  • Max
    rabbit character on animated series "Max and Ruby"
  • Max
    character on animated series "Dragon Tales"
  • Max Evans
    character on TV's "Roswell"
  • Max Blum
    character on TV's "Happy Endings"
  • Max Branning
    character on British soap "EastEnders"
  • Max Miller
    psychic on early season of "Supernatural"
  • Max de la Costa
    character in movie "Elysium"
  • Max
    main character in movie "Sharkboy and Lavagirl"
  • Maxwell "Max" Smart
    main character on TV's "Get Smart"
  • Max Thunderman
    character on TV's "The Thundermans"
  • Maximillion "Max" Galactica
    character in video game "Ace Attorney"
  • Max
    character on TV's "24"
  • Max
    character in Comet Man comics
  • Max
    talking spaceship in movie "Flight of the Navigator"
  • Max
    character in the Pokemon animated series
  • Max
    rabbit character in the Sam & Max series
  • Max Vandenburg
    character in Markus Zusak's "The Book Thief"
  • Max Britsky
    main character in "Max" by Howard Fast
  • Max Rhaymer
    character from the 2016 TV movie "Backstabbed"
  • Max Factor
    cosmetic company
  • Max
    main character in the Rooster Teeth animated series "Camp Camp"
  • Maximilian 'Max' Miller
    character from Netflix's "Greenhouse Academy"
  • Max Kante
    character from "Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir"
  • Max Fuller
    character on Netflix,series "Fuller House"
  • Max Goldman
    character in the 1993 film "Grumpy Old Men" & the 1995 sequel "Grumpier Old Men"