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At a Glance: Name: Maxwell – Meaning: Mack's well or spring – Origin: Scottish (place name) – Gender: Boy – Pronunciation: MAKS-wel
Maxwell (pronounced MAKS-wel) is a Scottish place name at its root, meaning "Mack's well or spring" — not the "great stream" or "great well" story some baby-name sites attach to it by linking Max to the Latin maximus. That's just a coincidental resemblance, not the actual origin. On the style side, Maxwell sits in the timeless-classic, vintage-soul camp, tagged as a classic-era boy's name.
Meaning & Origin of Maxwell
Meaning: Mack's well or spring.
Origin: Scottish (place name).
A common claim: Maxwell is often glossed on baby-name sites as 'great stream' or 'great well,' linking it to Max/Latin maximus ('greatest'). Actually: Maxwell doesn't come from 'great' — it's from the Scottish place name meaning 'Mack's well or spring' (a personal name Mack + well), unrelated to Latin maximus despite the coincidental resemblance to 'Max.'
Source: Wiktionary, Wikipedia.
How to Pronounce Maxwell
Phonetic: MAKS-wel IPA: /ˈmækswɛl/
Popularity of Maxwell
Maxwell peaked at #106 in 1999, when 3,338 boys were given the name, and has since settled to #182 in 2024 with 2,021 boys, based on SSA data covering 1880 through 2024.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration birth-name data via names_full.json, 1880–2024.
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Free printable nursery art for Maxwell, pre-loaded below — pick a layout, palette, and font, then download a print-ready PNG.
Names With a Similar Story
Derived from shared style, era, and origin data (or, for names without a catalog record, a similar Social Security popularity trajectory) — not a hand-picked list.
FAQ
What does the name Maxwell mean?
Mack’s well or spring. (Source: Wiktionary, https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Maxwell)
How do you pronounce Maxwell?
Maxwell is pronounced MAKS-wel (IPA: /ˈmækswɛl/).
Is Maxwell a popular name right now?
Maxwell peaked at #106 in 1999 and is ranked #182 as of 2024. (U.S. Social Security Administration data, 1880–2024.)
📊 How popular is Maxwell? See the full popularity history, trend data, and ranking since 1880 with our free Baby Name Popularity Checker.
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