Axel

Spellings & scripts●

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 10 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◐

Axel is also recorded as 7 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• German given name324K records spelled Axel109 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Germany, United States, Denmark, Norway

  Languages: German, English, Danish

  Also written Aksel, Аксел, Аксель, Aksel', Aexel

• Swedish given name49K records spelled Axel12 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland

  Languages: Swedish, Danish, Norwegian Bokmål

  Also written Axél, Äxel, Axël, Axèl, Âxêl

• Finnish given name29K records spelled Axel4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Finland, Sweden, United States, Estonia

  Languages: Finnish, Estonian

  Also written Axël, Âxel

• Lao given name8.4K records spelled Axel58 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Laos, Thailand, Türkiye, United States

  Languages: Lao, Thai

  Also written Esen, Axcel, Ezel, Acel, Aeksen

• Catalan given name7.2K records spelled Axel2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Spain, Andorra

  Also written Àxel

• a separate given name6.6K records spelled Axel4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Sweden, United Kingdom, Switzerland

  Also written Áxel, Àxel, Axël

• Indonesian given name4.1K records spelled Axel2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, Philippines, United States, Spain

  Also written 'Axel

71 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●

Axel 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 French, En patinage artistique, saut dans lequel le patineur effectue une rotation d’un tour et demi en l’air. Ce saut fut exécuté pour la première fois par le patineur suédois Axel Polsen (ou Paulsen) en 1882 à Vienne. Depuis lors, d’autres patineurs sont parvenus à effectuer des doubles axels et même des triples axels !

  as a name·2500 noms propres devenus communs : dictionnaire étymologique (éponymes, antonomases et hypallages)

• In French, Évoque l’axe, la protection « sous l’aile », l’exil et la volonté d’apaisement des tensions familiales; fête non indiquée.

  as a name·Dictionnaire généalogique des prénoms

• In French, Variante scandinave d’Absalon, du hébreu ʾav shalom « père de paix »; fête: 21 mars.

  as a name·Dictionnaire généalogique des prénoms

• In French, Forme nordique dérivée de l’hébreu Absalom, « père de la paix ».

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

• In French, Forme scandinave d'Absalon ou de nom germanique; usage moderne.

  as a name·Dictionnaire généalogique des prénoms

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●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 142 years between 1880–2025. 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. 1583SESwedish statesman (1583-1654)
• Erik Axel Karlfeldtb. 1864SESwedish poet (1864–1931)
• Haakon VII of Norwayb. 1872NOnot in their usual nameKing of Norway from 1905 to 1957 (1872–1957)
• Prince Axel of Denmarkb. 1888DKDanish prince, naval officer and business executive (1888–1964)
• Axel Springerb. 1912DEGerman mass media owner
• Lennart Carlesonb. 1928SEnot in their usual nameSwedish mathematician
• Axel Milbergb. 1956DEGerman actor
• Axel Kicillofb. 1971ARArgentine economist and politician (born 1971)
• Axwellb. 1977SEnot in their usual nameSwedish DJ and record producer
• Axel Witselb. 1989BEBelgian 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 · 1,319 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Axel?

We estimate roughly 242 thousand people bear Axel (counting its spellings and scripts) across 12 countries in our records.

In which country does Axel have the most bearers?

Axel is most frequently recorded in Argentina, where it is most often spelled axel.

Where is Axel most common?

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

How common is Axel compared with other names?

In Argentina, Axel is the 296th most common given name of 517,176 given names recorded there.

Is Axel a male or female name?

Axel 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 Axel mean?

Recorded meaning: Scandinavian form of Absalom, Hebrew 'father of peace'.