Max, the name of both the child hero and the young actor who plays him in Where The Wild Things Are, is one of the hottest names for boys these days.

　　Max can stand on its own or may be a short form of the ancient Roman name Maximus, which means “greatest,” or of Maximilian or Maxwell.  It’s one of the down-to-earth cigar-chomping old man names last popular a hundred years ago and enjoying a huge revival now.  Like brothers Sam and Jake, Max is unpretentious and friendly but also sounds cool.

　　Celebrities led the way in launching the revival of the name, starting in the late 70s and early 80s.  Stars who are the parents of now-grown kids named Max include Dustin Hoffman, Henry Winkler, Steven Spielberg, and Nora Ephron & Carl Bernstein.

　　More recent celebrity baby Maxes include:

　　MAX – With brother Bob, one of the infant sons of Charlie Sheen.

　　MAX AARON – Gilbert Gottfried‘s son, born this year.

　　MAX LIRON – Christina Aguilera’s one-year-old son.

　　MAXIMILIAN DAVID – Jennifer Lopez & Marc Anthony‘s twin boy.

　　MAXWELL EDWARD – Lance Armstrong‘s baby boy.

　　MAXWELL MARK – Son of Kerry Katona of the Atomic Kittens.

　　MAXX THOMAS – Scott Hamilton’s son

　　Besides the character in the Maurice Sendak classic, other pop culture influences on the revival of the name include:

　　MAD MAX – Mel Gibson’s 1979 character.

　　MAXIMUS,– Russell Crowe’s character in Gladiator

　　MAXWELL (MAX) Smart – lead character in television show and movie Get Smart

　　MAXWELL’s Silver Hammer – Beatles song

　　MAX – female character played by Vanessa Redgrave in Mission Impossible

　　In Annie Hall, Woody Allen and his best friend call each other MAX, though that isn’t the real name of either of their characters.

　　Starting as a Roman family name, Maximus was an early monk and theologian from Constantinople.  Maximilian grew out of Maximus and has been born by saints, kings and emperors.

　　Maxwell has a somewhat different root: It’s an old Scottish surname meaning Mack’s stream, which derives from the Scandinavian Magnus, which also means great.  (Will Ferrell and Kirsty Swanson both have little boys named the related MAGNUS)

　　All forms of the name have been rising on the popularity list in recent years.  The name’s 2008 standings are:

　　MAX 126

　　MAXWELL 134

　　MAXIMUS 258

　　MAXIMILIAN 300

　　Taken all together, there were nearly 9000 boys in the US given the name last year, which puts it in the Top 50, right between Jordan and Robert – much more popular than it seems!

　　The parent who loves Max but wants something a bit more, well, wild might want to consider the Italian MASSIMO, the French MAXIME, the feminine MAXINE, or the Scottish MACK.