Axel

Where Axel comes from

From Danish Aksel, first used for the bishop and statesman Absalon Hvide (1128–1201), from biblical Absalom. Some sources suggest that the bishop was originally named Áskell, from Old Norse "god" + "cauldron, helmet", and Absalon was chosen as the nearest-sounding Christian equivalent, leading to the exchange of the middle consonants.
— Wiktionary's entry for Axel
  • Germanic
  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1857
    Axel Munthe born
    Swedish physician
  2. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #442 among boys — 16 babies in the first year on record.
  3. 1989
    Axel Witsel born
    Belgian association football player
  4. 2023
    Peak, #71
    4,523 babies named Axel — more than any year before or since.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name from the Germanic languages in quiet use since the 19th century.
Namesakes
  • Axel Witsel · Belgian association football player, born 1989
  • Axel Munthe · Swedish physician, 1857–1949
  • Axel Oxenstierna · Swedish statesman, 1583–1654
  • Axel Rodrigues de Arruda · Brazilian association football player, born 1970
  • Axel Disasi · French footballer, born 1998

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.