Names like Axel
In 2025, 4,140 boys born in the US were named Axel, #79 among boys' names.
It was in the top 1,000 as early as 1880, dropped out, and has been back every year since 1989.
Its best rank was #71, in 2023.
The most births in one year were 4,667, in 2020.
Births rose 27% from 3,249 in 2015.
For 8 of the 12 names below, the current unbroken run in the top 1,000 began in 1984 or later (Axel's began in 1989).
Axel's rank every ten years
- 1880#444
- 1890#462
- 1900#754
- 1910#881
- 1920—
- 1930—
- 1940—
- 1950—
- 1960—
- 1970—
- 1980—
- 1990#886
- 2000#363
- 2010#187
- 2020#72
- 2025#79
— outside the top 1,000
12 boy names with a similar curve
How this list was made
We compared Axel's rank in every year from 1880 to 2025 with every other boy's name in the 2025 top 1,000 (US Social Security birth records); the closest curves come first. Years outside the top 1,000 count the same however far outside, years since 1995 count four times as much, and each name appears in one spelling.