How popular is the baby name Maximilian in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Maximilian.

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Popularity of the baby name Maximilian


Posts that mention the name Maximilian

Popular baby names in Germany, 2012

Flag of Germany
Flag of Germany

The most popular baby names in Germany were announced quite a while ago, but I never noticed the news release. Oops.

According to Germany’s Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache (Association for German Language), the country’s top names are Luca/Luka for boys and Sophie/Sofie for girls.

Here are the top 10 boy names and top 10 girl names of 2012:

Boy NamesGirl Names
1. Luca/Luka (1.69% of boys)
2. Maximilian (1.67%)
3. Alexander (1.56%)
4. Paul (1.55%)
5. Ben (1.29%)
6. Leon/Léon (1.29%)
7. Lukas/Lucas (1.26%)
8. Elias (1.25%)
9. Luis/Louis (1.20%)
10. Jonas (1.08%)		1. Sophie/Sofie (3.28% of girls)
2. Marie (3.22%)
3. Maria (1.58%)
4. Sophia/Sofia (1.50%)
5. Mia (1.48%)
6. Emma (1.39%)
7. Hannah/Hanna (1.27%)
8. Anna (1.23%)
9. Johanna (1.12%)
10. Luisa/Louisa (1.08%)

So, 17.2% of the baby girls and 13.8% of the baby boys born in Germany last year got a name in the top ten.

Some of the unusual names accepted by the government in 2012 were Fallion, Kirono, Meus, Katte, Ruster and Semea.

Source: GfdS

Image: Adapted from Flag of Germany (public domain)

Popular baby names in Germany, 2010

Flag of Germany
Flag of Germany

According to the Association for German Language (GfdS), the most popular baby names in Germany in 2010 were Sophie/Sofie and Maximilian:

Girl Names

  1. Sophie/Sofie
  2. Marie
  3. Maria
  4. Sophia/Sofia
  5. Mia
  6. Anna
  7. Lena
  8. Emma
  9. Hannah/Hanna
  10. Johanna

Boy Names

  1. Maximilian
  2. Alexander
  3. Paul
  4. Leon
  5. Lukas/Lucas
  6. Luca/Luka
  7. Elias
  8. Louis/Luis
  9. Jonas
  10. Felix

(These rankings don’t account for all German births last year, but they do account for over 50% of them.)

The GfdS also offered examples of the unusual baby names parents wanted to bestow in 2010. Some were accepted by the government, others were rejected.

Accepted:Rejected:
Belana
Kantorka
Kix
Laperla
Lelibeth
Loana
Lovelle
Miransah
Monel
Napoleon
Noredien
Nox
Quidan
Segesta		Cheraldine
Gihanna
Idjen (rather than Etienne)
Junge (“boy”)
Laslo (for a girl)
Leuis
Menez
Partizan
Pfefferminza (pfefferminze is “peppermint”)
Puppe (“doll”)

Finally, my source claims German law “stat[es] that middle names, like nicknames, can be modified at will.” I wasn’t aware of this. Can anyone out there confirm/deny?

Source: ‘Maximilian’ and ‘Sophie’ most popular baby names of 2010

Image: Adapted from Flag of Germany (public domain)

Most popular baby names in various locations, 2009

Here are some of the most popular baby names of 2009 in various places in the U.S. and elsewhere. I’ll add to this list as I spot other articles and news releases. In the meanwhile, if you see something that I’ve missed, please comment or e-mail me (with the source).

LocationGirl nameBoy name
Alberta, Canada (source)OliviaEthan
Australian Capital Territory (source)OliviaWilliam
Arizona, USA (source)IsabellaJacob
British Columbia, Canada (source)OliviaEthan
Chile (source)MartinaBenjamín
Derry, Northern Ireland, UK (source)Ava & Ellie (tie)Matthew
Evansville, IN, USA (source)OliviaAidan
Germany (source)MarieMaximilian
Knox County, IL, USA (source)AddisonLogan
Macomb County, MI, USA (source)AvaAnthony
Malta (post)Maria/Mariah/MarieLuke/Luca
Manitoba, Canada (source)AvaLiam
Nebraska, USA (source)AddisonAlexander
New South Wales, Australia (source)IsabellaWilliam
New Zealand (source)SophieJack
Newcastle, England, UK (source)LexiOliver
Northern Territory, Australia (source)IsabellaJack
Peterborough, England, UK (source)SophieMohammed
Oakland County, MI, USA (source)IsabellaJack
Quebec, Canada (source)LéaWilliam
Queensland, Australia (source)ChloeWilliam
San Mateo County, CA, USA (source)SophiaAlexander
Saskatchewan, Canada (source)EmmaEthan
Scotland, UK (source)SophieJack
Sheffield, England, UK (source)ChloeHarry
South Australia, Australia (source)CharlotteJack
Sweden (source)AliceLucas
Tasmania, Australia (source)Ruby & Charlotte (tie)Oliver
Tennessee, USA (source)EmmaWilliam
The Netherlands (source)EmmaDaan
United States (source)IsabellaJacob
Victoria, Australia (source)OliviaWilliam
Wyoming, USA (source)MadisonAiden

P.S. Some of the names above actually represent several variants of the name.