Aksel

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Axel in DE Germany, SE Sweden, US United States and 14 more, Аксель in RU Russia, TR Türkiye, UA Ukraine, Aksel' in LV Latvia and Аксел in KZ Kazakhstan.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 16 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Aksel is also recorded as 6 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Turkish given name18K records spelled Aksel4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Türkiye, United States, Belgium, Norway

  Also written Akşel, Aksél

• French given name14K records spelled Aksel18 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, Spain, Algeria, Belgium

  Languages: French, Catalan, English

  Also written Koceila, Koceïla, Aksel', Akşel, Kocéila

• Spanish given name1.6K records spelled Aksel8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Brazil, Spain, United States, Mexico

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese

  Also written Aksel', Aksél, Kusaila

• Polish given name858 records spelled Aksel2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Poland, Norway, United States, Latvia

  Also written Aksel'

• a separate given name605 records spelled Aksel2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Norway, United States, Türkiye, Sweden

  Also written Ãksël

• Bulgarian given name537 records spelled Aksel22 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Bulgaria, Croatia, Spain, United States

  Languages: Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian

  Also written Axel, Аксел, Aksel', Āksel, Aксел

36 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Aksel is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In Danish, a male given name, equivalent to English Axel

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In Norwegian Nynorsk, an axle

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In English, peninsula, Greece

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

• In English, Akti [Acte]

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

• In Indonesian, clipping of akselerasi (“acceleration”)

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

NO SSB — Navn (1880–present) — 81 years between 1945–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Axel Oxenstiernab. 1583SEnot in their usual nameSwedish statesman (1583-1654)
• Erik Axel Karlfeldtb. 1864SEnot in their usual nameSwedish poet (1864–1931)
• Haakon VII of Norwayb. 1872NOnot in their usual nameKing of Norway from 1905 to 1957 (1872–1957)
• Axel Springerb. 1912DEnot in their usual nameGerman mass media owner
• Lennart Carlesonb. 1928SEnot in their usual nameSwedish mathematician
• Axel Milbergb. 1956DEnot in their usual nameGerman actor
• Axel Kicillofb. 1971ARnot in their usual nameArgentine economist and politician (born 1971)
• Aksel Hennieb. 1975NONorwegian actor and director
• Axwellb. 1977SEnot in their usual nameSwedish DJ and record producer
• Axel Witselb. 1989BEnot in their usual nameBelgian association football player (born 1989)

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 412 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Aksel?

We estimate roughly 242 thousand people bear Aksel (counting its spellings and scripts) across 15 countries in our records.

In which country does Aksel have the most bearers?

Aksel is most frequently recorded in Germany, where it is most often spelled axel.

Where is Aksel most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Aksel is densest in Sweden — about 1 in 168 people — even though Germany holds more of our records for it.

How common is Aksel compared with other names?

In Germany, Aksel is the 153rd most common given name of 154,506 given names recorded there.

Is Aksel a male or female name?

Aksel is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Aksel mean?

Recorded meaning: a male given name from Danish, equivalent to English Axel