Baby Naming Issue: Is Maxwell Still Usable?

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M. writes:

Hi Swistle... I'm due with our first child, a boy, on June 1 (although it's looking like he may make an early appearance).  We've been through a long list of names deciding "that's the one" until one of us changes their minds:

Henry (the dad finally admitted he didn't like the name)
Roarke (Worried about teasing - Roarke the Dork)
Finn from Phineas/Finlay (I hate Finn with the last name which has a long N in it)
August nn Gus (the dad has bad images of a child named Gus)
Ezra (I love, dad hates)

There are others. But now the dad is stuck on Max/Maxwell.  My issue with Max is how many people respond with "I had a dog named that".  We're stuck.  This kid needs a name and nothing seems right.  I'd love thoughts on Maxwell and will gladly take any suggestions you have.  I love classic and biblical names that aren't too trendy. The dad likes names that are more "out there" and would name the poor child Briar (his all time favorite name for a boy) if I'd give him 30 seconds with the birth certificate. 

If it helps, a girl would have been Millicent Claire (that was set about 10 days after we found out I was expecting)

Thanks!

and

Hi Swistle! My issue with Maxwell is growing!  I've now had 3 people tell me "so did you hear that Jessica Simpson is supposed to name her DAUGHTER Maxwell!"... Dad says it's not a problem but I'm not really thrilled with a celebu-tante naming her daughter what I want to name my son within a few weeks, so is it a problem or am I overthinking it? 

Thanks!

These things aren't easy to predict, but my gut feeling is that Jessica Simpson's daughter's name isn't going to change much: the number of people put off by her choice (i.e., they were planning a similar name for a girl, but now feel like they'd look like they were copying her) will probably balance the number of people inspired by it.

There were 5 baby girls named Maxwell in 2010, according to the Social Security Administration, and I saw in a magazine that some other celebrity named a baby girl Maxwell within the last few months as well. Another 8 girls were named Max in 2010, and another 5 were named Maxx. For comparison, 15 girls were named Matthew, 37 girls were named Michael, 14 girls were named Andrew, and 9 girls were named John. There will always be a few people looking for something along these lines, but I don't think that means any of these names will "go girl," as the saying goes. If you wanted to distance yourself a bit because of the poor timing, you could use another long-form of Max: Maximilian, Maximus, Maxon/Maxton/Maxson. Or go straight to Max.

The dog issue, I'd disregard completely. Many people give pets "people names," but it doesn't make those names "dog names"---any more than Jessica Simpson's baby Maxwell makes Maxwell a "girl name." I notice too that names start being used for pets right before they start coming back into style for people: I think it's because a name sounds a little too quirky right before it starts sounding awesomely different---which means first it's perfect for a dog/cat, and then you have a baby and can't use the name you love because you already used it for a pet (this happened to Paul and me with the name Oliver). So it makes sense that there are a lot of dogs named Max, but Max/Maxwell are nevertheless well established as names for human boys, and if people also used that name for their dogs I think you can just say "Oh really?"

If Maxwell still isn't quite right and the dad likes Briar, would Meyer work?

Or Felix? It's a name with long roots, but it sounds now the way I remember Max sounding a decade or two ago.

George is another name I'd think of as belonging to "the next Max" category.

Or Milo.

Whenever I see names like Max and Gus and Finn, I think of Sam and Jack and Joe. Some similar stuff from the biblical section: Abe (from Abel/Able or Abram), Ash (from Asher), Ben, Ike/Zac (from Isaac), Zeke (from Ezekiel), Gabe, Jake, Levi, Saul/Sol, Jude.