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Maxwell

Boy name · 707 babies recorded · 1974–2025

Maxwell: 707 babies born in Scotland since 1974, given to boys, peaking at 39 births in 2012.

Of Scottish and English origin, Maxwell began as a place name meaning "Mack's stream" or "Mack's pool," derived from the Old English *wælla* (spring/stream) combined with the personal name Mack, who may have been a Viking settler. The name gained prominence through the powerful Maxwell clan, whose seat was Caerlaverock Castle in Dumfriesshire. Celebrated bearers include physicist James Clerk Maxwell, whose equations unified electricity and magnetism, and the 20th-century poet Glyn Maxwell. The river Maxwell in New Zealand was named after a pioneer with the name, while the town in Texas shares the clan's surname heritage. A modern variant is the shortened Max, which has become hugely popular in its own right across Scotland and beyond.