Maximus

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Maximus

Say it: MAK-sih-mus

Try it with your surname

Meaning

Latin maximus 'greatest'.

Certainscholars agree on this meaning.

A common Roman cognomen and saint's name; Maxime, Massimo and Maksim are frequent modern European forms.

Its wave through time

In the United States

00.511.518801900192019401960198020002020Peak 2016per 1,000 babies of that sex
  • 28,702 babies given this name since 1997
  • At its height in 2016, about 1 in 893 boys
  • 1,394 babies in 2020

Through the ages

  1. Ancient Rome750 BC to AD 476
  2. The Early Middle Ages400 to 800
  3. The Modern Age1880 to today

Used by

LatinEarly ChristianItalianFrenchRussianUkrainianAmerican

The family of the name

ItalianMassimo
SpanishMáximo
FrenchMaxime
RussianMaksim
UkrainianMaksym
EnglishMaxim

Famous bearers

  • Maximus the Confessor, Byzantine theologian
  • Magnus Maximus, Roman emperor

Names worth a look

Where this comes from

  • Roman literature and history (Livy, Cicero, Tacitus and others)
  • Lives of the saints and early Christian martyrologies
  • National birth statistics of European countries source
  • United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source

Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.

Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.