Maximillian
From Latin, meaning "greatest". This English spelling stays rare in Poland: around 229 men carry it, all of them male, and it barely turns up among newborns now.
Maximillian Pronunciation
What Maximillian means
Where Maximillian comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Maximillian descends from the Latin Maximilianus. The Holy Roman Emperor Friedrich III is said to have coined it for his son, joining Maximus, meaning greatest, with the old Roman family name Aemilianus. That sense of largest, in Polish największy, has clung to the name ever since.
The double L marks the English spelling. Polish prefers its own form, Maksymilian. Friends shorten it to Maks.
Poland's best known bearer is Maksymilian Kolbe, the Franciscan friar who took another prisoner's place and died at Auschwitz in 1941. The Church keeps his feast on 14 August, so the name sits beside that date on the calendar. A teacher reading the register finds a Maks in the back row, greatest by the Latin, plain by the list.
How many people are named Maximillian
1 in 93215 men in Poland is named Maximillian. 229 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #2056 among male names.
Maximillian's popularity over time
Fewer than 2 boys were given the name in 2025. It has been falling steadily since 2000.
Where parents choose Maximillian
Maximillian is most popular in Lesser Poland, 852% above the national average (2 boys born 2019–2025).
-
Lesser Poland
+852%1 in 113,458 babies
-
Lesser Poland+852% 2 born1 in 113,458 babies+852%
Maximillian as a middle name
Maximillian is a first name for 229 men in Poland and a middle name for another 52, an 81/19 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 1045th, between Jamie (52) and Saleh (52).
-
#1043 Harold52
-
#1044 Jamie52
-
#1045 Maximillian52
-
#1046 Saleh52
-
#1047 Stéphane52