# Maxwell (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/maxwell/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A Scottish habitational surname from Mackeswell near Melrose.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 67,961 |
| US rank (2010) | 490 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 4,543 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.3% (65,779 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈmækswɛl/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From an earlier form Mackeswell, meaning "Mack's well or spring", from Old English welle (“well”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Maxwell in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 73% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 21% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.7% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.6% |
| Two or more races | 2.2% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Maxwell in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Ireland.

## People named Maxwell

- Stella Maxwell, Belgian-New Zealand supermodel (born 1990)
- Marilyn Maxwell, American actress and singer (1921–1972)
- Glenn Maxwell, Australian cricketer
- Cedric Maxwell, American basketball player (born 1955)
- John C. Maxwell, American author, speaker and neopentecostal pastor
- Elsa Maxwell, American gossip columnist, author, songwriter, and hostess (1883–1963)
- Daphne Maxwell Reid, American actress, comedian and former model (born 1948)
- Vernon Maxwell, American basketball player, shooting guard
- John Maxwell, American golfer (1871–1906)
- Jenny Maxwell, American actress (1941-1981)
- John Maxwell, British Army officer and colonial governor (1859-1929)
- Edwin Maxwell, actor (1886-1948)

and 9 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Mazzella, Maselli, Maskell, Masiello, Mosley, McCall, Michael, McGill, Michel, McCauley, Moseley, Maciel.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.