Spelling Opinions

General Name Discussion
1

Hello! I am new to the NB community!

I have always been completely fascinated by names. It drives my friends and family crazy. My husband and I are now expecting our first child, due in [name]November[/name]…so now I don’t need an excuse to bring the topic up :wink:

[name]Even[/name] though [name]November[/name] is quite a long time from now, my husband and I have already chosen a name for a little boy. We haven’t been quite as lucky for a girls name…but that’s another post!

If we have a boy, we will be naming him Maxon. It’s a Welsh name, which is my heritage, that means “The Greatest”. I love the nickname [name]Max[/name], too… and have an uncle [name]Max[/name] with whom I’m very close.

Our dilemma is the spelling. Although we originally fell in love with Maxon, neither of us are SURE it’s right. Other people have said to spell it Maxson or Maxsen- they said it looks more sophisticated - but I’m not sure how I feel about the “x-s” thing. I like the way it looks at first glance. What do you think?

Maxon
Maxson
[name]Maxen[/name]
Maxsen

2

[name]Welcome[/name] to Nameberry and congrats on your pregnancy! Personally I would choose the spelling Maxon. Adding the “s” makes it look made-up to me and less appealing. Maxon looks more distinguished to my eyes. Maxon reminds me of the Russian name [name]Maxim[/name] so I like it! All the best!

3

I also vote for the Maxon spelling. Adding the S is unnecessary and creates a repetition of sounds. Since the -son and -sen endings are so trendy right now for boys and girls, I would avoid it. [name]Maxen[/name] just doesn’t look right to me.

4

I whole-heartedly concur, Maxon makes the most sense. The -s in son is redundant and just following the -son trendiness lately. I mean I guess if your family name really was Maxson that would be fine, but it’s not. Now, just from a spelling stance, Macson makes sense.

[name]Maxen[/name] doesn’t have the redundancy problem, at least, but it also looks kind of new-fangled. Maxon does really just look like a grounded name, and since it actually is your family name, totally the one to go with : D! Also, if someone said Maxon to me, this is the spelling I would guess. All best!

5

I personally prefer [name]Maxen[/name], but I also like Maxon. I would go with what you first loved and try not to over-complicate things just because someone thinks you should change it. I’m pretty sure the original spelling is Macsen, which was then changed to [name]Maxen[/name]. [name]Maxen[/name] is the spelling [name]Lord[/name] [name]Maxen[/name] Wledig used (the general who led the [name]Roman[/name] army out of [name]Britain[/name]). But Maxon is a great name and a wonderful spelling! Good [name]Luck[/name]!

6

I think if you put this question to 100 nameberries that 99 of them would say use the traditional spelling.
The traditional spelling is tried and true.

[name]Welcome[/name] to nameberry!

I have been a name nerd forever and I have never heard of the name Maxon.

rollo :slight_smile:

7

Well…good :slight_smile: Maxon it is, then!

Thank you everyone for your prompt response! I had posted our boy name choice on another forum, and was completely astounded that virtually every comment said to change the spelling to Maxson! It complicated an otherwise very simple process.

@[name]Rollo[/name] - it makes me happy to hear that you’ve never heard of it before! I really love the idea of unique names. Not youneekleigh spelled common names, or completely out there-whacko names, but nice, unique names. :slight_smile:

And @[name]Mischa[/name] - [name]Maxim[/name] used to be one of our very favorite names after a Hockey player named [name]Maxim[/name] Afinogenov. Still love it…however it has been replaced by Maxon.

8

[name]Welcome[/name] to nameberry!

I think if you put this question to 100 nameberries that 99 of them would say use the traditional spelling. The traditional spelling is tried and true.

I have been a name nerd forever and I have never heard of the name Maxon. However, I have done a little research on the internet and cannot find an Welsh connection and it appears to be a surname.

Here is the info I found:

Source No 1

The name comes from a pool on the river Tweed near [name]Kelso[/name] and is thought to be named after Maccus, son of Undewyn, a [name]Saxon[/name] lord who was given a grant of land on the Tweed by [name]King[/name] [name]David[/name] I before 1150.

The fishery attached to it was called Maccus’s Wiel (from the Old English “wael” or whirlpool). Not far away, in Roxburghshire, the town (and surname) of Maxton may have come from the same Maccus. His grandson, [name]John[/name] of Maccuswell was Chamberlain of [name]Scotland[/name]. [name]John[/name]'s brother, Sir [name]Aymer[/name], was also chamberlain and it is from him that a number of the [name]Maxwell[/name] branches are descended.

Source No 2
Maxon Coat of Arms / Maxon Family Crest

This surname of MAXON was of territorial origin from the barony of the same name in Roxburghshire. The place may have derived its name from MACCUS, the son of Undewyn, who in the reign of [name]David[/name] I obtained lands in the neighbourhood.

The barony passed out of possession of the family by the end of the 12th century, being acquired by [name]Robert[/name] de [name]Berkeley[/name] and later by the de Normanvilles. About the year 1250, [name]Adam[/name] de MAKUSTON witnessed a charter, and [name]Adam[/name] de MAXTON was elected abbot of Melrose in 1261.

The first people in [name]Scotland[/name] to acquire fixed surnames were the nobles and great landowners, who called themselves, or were called by others, after the lands they possessed. Surnames originating in this way are known as territorial.

The Hungarian family of MAXON is descended from an individual of this name who emigrated to that country several generations ago. A family of MAXTONS have been settled for six centuries at Cultoquey in Perthshire, and the celebrated ‘litany’ was the composition of one of its members about the year 1725. The satire was aimed at certain powerful neighbours of his and embodied the popular characteristics of certain Scottish families:

I would be interested to know where you found the Welsh connection. Thanks.

I love the name [name]Saxon[/name] wdyt of it?

rollo :slight_smile:

9

My editing resulted in two posts sorry.

10

You are correct, it is surname!

Actually, when I “discovered” the name, I was looking at a patient’s chart at a doctor’s office I was working for. It was the patient’s last name. (Spelled Maxon)

As I included in my original post, the welsh name is spelled [name]Maxen[/name]. You can find it right here on NB – the ONLY baby name site I’ve been able to find any spelling variation of the name. It’s from the latin name, [name]Maximus[/name].

Oops…OK…so I didn’t include it! I did at one point, but I must have deleted it unknowingly. Anyway, [name]Maxen[/name] is the Welsh spelling, but I just prefer the more masculine look of the “o”

11

On NB, they also refer to the original spelling, Macsen. Although I do like this spelling, I like the nickname [name]Max[/name]…but really dislike “[name]Mac[/name]” or “[name]Mack[/name]”.

12

It’s amazing what a letter can do for a name! Maxon does look more masculine than [name]Maxen[/name], doesn’t it?

13

As far as I know, the letter X does not exist in the Welsh alphabet. Macsen, though, is a legitimate Welsh first name that’s pronounced just like Maxon. All of the X spellings just look like tryndee ways to get to the nickname [name]Max[/name], to me. And you can definitely nickname a Macsen [name]Max[/name]-- I don’t see the problem there. [name]Just[/name] like [name]Abby[/name] for [name]Abigail[/name], [name]Winnie[/name] for [name]Guinevere[/name], or [name]Millie[/name] for [name]Amelia[/name].

14

Much more, in my opinion! [name]Maxen[/name] looks much “softer” to me.

@irisrose: I do understand where you’re coming from… however I see it the complete opposite! Although Macsen is the old-school Welsh version of the name, in my opinion, it just looks like the trendy way to avoid the letter “X”!

And you could absolutely keep [name]Max[/name] with this spelling, but I feel that people outside of the family would want to use [name]Mac[/name] instead. I would, if I had met someone with the name Macsimus!

15

Yeah, I definitely see that. But the thing is, X is a really trendy letter right now ([name]Maddox[/name], [name]Felix[/name], [name]Xander[/name]). Maxon, to me, seems more like [name]Jaxon[/name], a tryndee spelling of [name]Jackson[/name] and currently #126 on the SSA list. My general feeling is that the original spelling is always the way to go-- if someone comments on Macsen, you can say it’s the Welsh version of [name]Maximus[/name]. I’m not sure you can say that about Maxon. Then again, I’m very much a purist when it comes to names, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. :slight_smile:

16

I literally never saw this until you pointed it out, thank you very much :wink:

But yeah, I see what you mean.

I love the name [name]Felix[/name]… I didn’t know it was trendy! Everyone here things I’m crazy for liking it…they say it’s an old man or a dog’s name. Fun!

17

I’m not quite a purist when it comes to name spellings, but do tend to prefer traditional spellings. That said, I think Maxon is fine, especially as it is a legitimate spelling of the surname. You saw it on an actual person’s record, after all! I would never have made the connection to the entirely made up looking [name]Jaxon[/name]. I’ve never come across [name]Jaxon[/name] as a real person’s surname. I wouldn’t worry too much about the Maxon/[name]Maxen[/name]/Macsen issue as they’re all real spellings of a real name, and the “o” spelling is the one you prefer.

18

I actually believe the traditional spelling is Macsen. At least according to behindthename, which is usually right. Meaning, origin and history of the name Macsen - Behind the Name
It is the Welsh form of [name]Maximus[/name]. I have always quite liked it. I would stick to the Macsen spelling myself, or at the very least [name]Maxen[/name] which is also a legitimate spelling. Meaning, origin and history of the name Maxen - Behind the Name

Maxon also reminds me of [name]Jaxon[/name].

19

Thanks, aftorres …that’s exactly what I’m going to do!

Since Maxon was originally how I was introduced to the name, I’m going that route. I just had a conversation with my husband about it…and we’ve settled it. We both love the name - and agree that this spelling is the best for our future son.

I appreciate the fact that Macsen is the original Welsh spelling, however the more I look at it, the more I dislike it. Despite my understanding of it’s history, it looks made up and too trendy for my tastes.

I never saw the connection between [name]Jaxon[/name] and Maxon. Although I completely see the link now! It doesn’t bother me, though, because [name]Jackson[/name] is a relatively common name – and an extremely common surname. Since Maxon isn’t a common name at all (at least not here in the U.S.), there is no “common” spelling. That’s why I kept second guessing myself - I really have no precedent to go off of!

20

I see you dislike the Macsen spelling but I really like it. Like others, when I see Maxon I just think of [name]Jaxon[/name] and it really makes me dislike the name when otherwise I love the sound. I think even with Macsen, you can still use [name]Max[/name] nn (and [name]Max[/name] spelling of nn). Maxon just makes me want to pronounce it max-on; [name]Maxen[/name] doesn’t look quite right either.

I really like the name, though, so good luck in finding the spelling you prefer!