Max Family History
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Max Name Meaning
German and Dutch: from a short form of the personal name Maximilian (Latin Maximillianus, a derivative of Maximillus, diminutive of Maximus ‘greatest’), borne by a 3rd-century saint venerated particularly in the region of Passau, where he founded a church. The personal name was comparatively rare at the most productive period of surname formation; it gained popularity from the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (born 1459), who was named by his father, Frederick III of Austria, in honor of the Roman heroes Q. Fabius Maximus and Scipio Aemilianus, as if with a combination of their names. The name is also borne by Ashkenazic Jews, presumably as an adoption of the German surname.
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press
Similar surnames: May, Mar, Mak, Man, Mas, Bax, Ma, Yax, Lax, Mao
