Maxine
Maxine was the 497th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 597 babies. Its best year was 1923, when it ranked 76th; the most babies were born in 1924 (3,659). Over the last ten years it has moved up 611 places. More babies were named Maxine in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Meaning feminine of Max (from Maximilian) · Latin, English
Say it mak-SEEN /mækˈsin/
- Rank in 2025
- #497 girls, up 245 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 597girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19243,659 babies
- Total since 1880
- 115,989babies recorded
What does the name Maxine mean?
Maxine is an English feminine form of Max, coined at the end of the 19th century by adding the French-style ending -ine. Max itself came into English from German as a short form of Maximilian, and later also of Maxwell. Maximilian goes back to Latin Maximilianus, which Wiktionary derives from the Roman name Maximus, from maximus, greatest. So Maxine's deepest root is the Latin word for "greatest," passed through two pet forms.
maximus (Latin, “greatest”)Max (German, “short for Maximilian”)
How sure is this? Probable. The coinage is documented; the 'greatest' meaning reaches Maxine only through Max and Maximilian. Wiktionary only.
Related names: Max, Maxima, Maximilian, Maxene.
See also: Latin names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Maxine' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Max' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Maximilianus' (Latin section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
Nicknames for Maxine
The usual nicknames for Maxine are Max and Maxie. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Maxine in the last five years, 10 were named Max, against 5 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max · also for Massimo, Maxwell, Maximus | Traditional | #3,687 | 264 |
| Maxie · also for Max | Traditional | #7,027 | 71 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Maxines go by each one.
Maxine popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 377 since 1912.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #497 | 597 |
| 2020 | #742 | 370 |
| 2010 | #1,424 | 161 |
| 2000 | #1,146 | 178 |
| 1990 | #1,041 | 173 |
| 1980 | #1,201 | 110 |
| 1970 | #632 | 262 |
| 1960 | #390 | 592 |
| 1950 | #213 | 1,254 |
| 1940 | #137 | 1,785 |
| 1930 | #93 | 2,700 |
| 1920 | #81 | 3,507 |
| 1910 | #171 | 397 |
| 1900 | #404 | 68 |
| 1890 | #859 | 11 |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Maxine, counting every spelling?
Maxine is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #500 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #497 for Maxine on its own. Together these spellings went to 617 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maxine | 597 | #497 | 2,676 |
| Maxxine | 12 | #8,682 | 43 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Maxine?
597 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Maxine (0.17 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Maxine born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 14 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Maxine.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Maxine?
About 36,600 people born in the US named Maxine are alive today, with a median age of 71; half are between 38 and 81. That makes Maxine a name most people associate with older generations. The wide spread shows a name popular in two different eras.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Maxine by state
How common Maxine was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Minnesota (2.3×), Massachusetts (2.1×), Washington (2.1×), Oregon (2.0×), Kansas (1.7×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Maxine: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Maxine, they share its era and feel.
Questions about the name Maxine
What does Maxine mean?
Maxine means “feminine of Max (from Maximilian)” (Latin, English origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Maxine?
Maxine was the 497th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 597 babies. Its best year was 1923, when it ranked 76th; the most babies were born in 1924 (3,659). Over the last ten years it has moved up 611 places. More babies were named Maxine in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Is Maxine a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Maxine in the US.
Where is Maxine most popular?
In 2021–2025, Maxine was most common in Minnesota (0.76 per 1,000 girls), followed by Massachusetts and Washington.