Maxton
Son of the great, from the Old English words "mæst" (most, greatest) and "tun" (town, settlement).
Name Census estimates that about 4,465 living Americans carry the first name Maxton. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Maxton today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maxton births was 2017 (377 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maxton. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Maxton with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Maxton is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 12 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
4.5K
~ 1 in 76,765 Americans
Peak year
2017
377 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,274
Tracked since 1927
Census
Maxton in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,273 people with the first name Maxton, which placed it at #5,300 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#5,300
National first-name rank
People counted
3.3K
3,273 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
76.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Maxton
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maxton is White at 76.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.7%) and Two or More Races (6.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Maxton described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Maxton at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.5% · 2,503
- Hispanic or Latino9.7% · 318
- Two or more races6.8% · 224
- Black or African American3.8% · 123
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 90
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 15
Popularity
Maxton: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maxton from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 2,714 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Maxton remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Maxton by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Maxton during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Maxtons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 36 states and territories. Ohio, California, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Maxton, while Mississippi, Idaho, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 87 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Maxton
The name Maxton has its origins in Scottish and English cultures, with roots dating back to the Middle Ages. It is a variant of the name Maxwell, which is derived from the Old English words "maec" and "swell," meaning "great stream." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who lived near a large river or body of water.
Maxton was initially a surname used in Scotland and northern England, particularly in regions like the Scottish Borders and Northumberland. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 12th century, when it appeared in various medieval documents and records.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Maxton was Sir John Maxton, a Scottish knight who lived in the 14th century. He played a significant role in the Scottish Wars of Independence against England and was a loyal supporter of King Robert the Bruce.
Another notable figure was William Maxton, an English clergyman and scholar who lived in the 16th century. He was the master of the prestigious Christ's College at the University of Cambridge and is credited with contributing to the development of the college's library and academic programs.
In the 17th century, Maxton gained popularity as a given name, particularly among Protestant families in Scotland and England. One prominent individual was Robert Maxton, a Scottish minister and theologian who lived from 1620 to 1699. He was known for his influential sermons and writings on religious topics.
During the 18th century, the name Maxton was associated with several notable figures in the arts and sciences. For instance, James Maxton (1698-1772) was a Scottish poet and playwright who gained recognition for his satirical works and contributions to the literary scene of his time.
In the 19th century, Maxton became more widely used as a first name across various social classes. One notable figure was Benjamin Maxton (1820-1892), a British inventor and engineer who made significant contributions to the development of early telegraph systems and electrical communications technology.
While the name Maxton has its roots in Scotland and England, it has since gained popularity in other parts of the world, particularly in North America and Australia, where it is often used as a first name for both boys and girls.
People
Maxton + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maxton as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Maxton: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maxton?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,465 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maxton going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 76,765 US residents.
Is Maxton a common name?
We classify Maxton as "Rare". It ranks above 96.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,509 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maxton most popular?
The single biggest year for Maxton was 2017, when 377 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maxton is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Maxton in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,273 people with the name Maxton, or 1.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,300 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Maxton in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Maxton?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Maxton appears almost entirely male. Of the 3,275 people counted with this name, 99.5% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Maxton?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maxton is White at 76.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.7%) and Two or More Races (6.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Maxton most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Maxton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.5% (2,503 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Maxton in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Maxton a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Maxton in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Maxton still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Maxton in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Maxton can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Maxton?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Maxton at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.