How rare is the name Axel?

42,999 people in the United States have the first name Axel, about 1 in 7,024. It ranks #1,003 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

AXEL

#1,003

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
42,999
About
1 in 7,024
This common or more
70.1%
Who bears it

Of the 42,999 people named Axel, 66.6% reported their origin as Hispanic or Latino, 28.2% as White and 2.4% as two or more races. 99.4% are male. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Axel peaked in 2020, when 4,675 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
2020
Births that year
4,675
In 2025*
4,148 ▼11%
Recorded as
almost entirely male

At least 72,668 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Axel by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 2020s, when it ranked #124. The largest share of babies named Axel, 70.1%, were born in 2013 or later.

1880s#957163
1890s#1,218165
1900s#2,09386
1910s#2,126291
1920s#3,162232
1930s#5,02389
1940s#5,64281
1950s#6,35985
1960s#4,813168
1970s#5,008222
1980s#3,701446
1990s#2,0401,534
2000s#60210,670
2010s#21931,897
2020s#12426,539
Before 19010.5%
Greatest Generation 1901–270.8%
Silent Generation 1928–450.2%
Baby boom 1946–640.3%
Generation X 1965–800.5%
Millennials 1981–961.9%
Generation Z 1997–1225.8%
2013 and later70.1%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Axel is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Axel has been most common in Nevada (3.7×), Arizona (2.6×), and Texas (2.1×), and least common in Maine (0.23×).

69,857 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Axel

#1,001 Fabian · 43,046#1,002 Eliana · 43,043#1,004 Kylee · 42,844#1,005 Herman · 42,824

Spelled almost the same

3 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Axel, most common first.

#6,343 Axl · 2,542#19,300 Axell · 550#27,750 Axcel · 328

Also a last name

As a last name, Axel ranks #35,561 of 156,621, with 681 people. See Axel as a last name

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