Axel
Boy nameAxel has been given to 72,668 babies in the U.S. since 1880. It peaked in 2020 and currently ranks #79 for boys (2025).
Meaning & origin /ˈæk.səl/
From Danish Aksel, first used for the bishop and statesman Absalon Hvide (1128–1201), from biblical Absalom. Some sources suggest that the bishop was originally named Áskell, from Old Norse "god" + "cauldron, helmet", and Absalon was chosen as the nearest-sounding Christian equivalent, leading to the exchange of the middle consonants.
Origin: Germanic languages
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Popularity over time births per year, 1880–2025
Total babies
72,668
Peak year
2020 (4,675 babies)
Rank in 2025
#79 for boys
First recorded
1880
10-year trend
▲ +27%
Gender split
0% girls / 100% boys
Famous people named Axel
Erik Axel Karlfeldt
Swedish poet (1864–1931)
Axel Witsel
Belgian association football player (born 1989)
Axel Munthe
Swedish physician (1857-1949)
Akseli Gallen-Kallela
Finnish painter (1865-1931)
Notability data from Wikidata (CC0).
Names with a similar vibe
Same primary gender, peaked around the same years, and roughly as common as Axel.
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