Birger vs Max
Birger and Maxcompared on official birth-registration statistics and Namewise's recorded data. This page states what each name's record shows — it never picks a winner or scores one name against the other.
Head to head
Ranks are only compared within one published list and one year. Two ranks from different years, from a boys' and a girls' list, or from different registrars are not comparable, so they are not placed side by side.
Norway · Boys
In 2025, Birger was ranked #490 and Max #72 among boys in Norway.
Birger and Max over time
Birger and Max appear together in 1 published list, across 60 years of shared records. Max held the stronger position in more years in 1 of them, Birger in 0.
The order between them changed and held in one of those lists — a change in that published list, never a claim that one name displaced the other.
Birger reached its own highest recorded position earlier in 1 of those lists, and Max in none. Each position is a place inside its own list, so this compares when they peaked and never how high.
Counted list by list. Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale in the same year, so those comparisons are real — but positions from different lists are not, so nothing here is combined into an overall standing.
How this pair is related
The relationship kinds these two qualify for, each under its own stated rule. Every one is drawn from a list they both appear in.
- Longest-running competitions
Birger and Max were both ranked in Norway · Boys for 60 years, from 1946 to 2025, ending at #490 and #72.
List by list
Norway · Boys60 shared years, 1946–2025
Birger held the stronger position in 24 of those years, Max in 36.
Highest recorded here: Birger #77 in 1946, Max #60 in 2012.
The order changed in 1989: Max moved ahead. In 1988 they stood at #322 and #431; by 1989 that had become #525 and #265.
Most recent shared year, 2025: Birger #490, Max #72.
Two names moving past each other in a ranking is a fact about the ranking. Namewise does not claim one name displaced the other, that families chose between them, or that either influenced the other — none of that is in this data.
Side by side
| Field | Birger | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Record type | Official statistical record (evidence-only) | Editorially researched profile |
| Gender usage | male | male |
| Meaning | Not yet recorded | A short form of Maximilian or Maxim, ultimately from Latin 'maximus' (greatest). |
| Origin | Not yet recorded | Latin, via Maximilian/Maxim |
| Pronunciation | /ˈmæks/ | |
| Syllables | 2 | 1 |
| Common variants / nicknames | Not yet recorded | Not yet recorded |
| Recorded regional usage | NO | AU-NSW, GB-ENW, GB-NIR, GB-SCT, IE, NO, NZ |
| Most recent popularity observation | Norway · Boys #490 (2025) | New South Wales, Australia · Boys #30 (2025) |
| Pronunciation clarity (demonstration score) | Not yet recorded | 90/100 |
| Spelling simplicity (demonstration score) | 88/100 | 95/100 |
| International familiarity (demonstration score) | 40/100 | 100/100 |
| Data Confidence | medium | medium |
What the data shows
- Max has a recorded origin (Latin, via Maximilian/Maxim); Birger does not have one recorded yet.
- Birger has 2 syllables, compared with 1 for Max.
- A meaning is recorded for Max; Birger doesn't have one written yet.
- Both names have recorded usage in NO.
How each name got here
Birger
Popularity journey
First recorded1945
First recorded at #81 among boys in Norway in 1945 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Boys
Highest recorded1945–2025
Highest recorded position: #72 among boys in Norway, in 1950 (recorded 1945–2025).
Norway · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #490 among boys in Norway, in 2025.
Norway · Boys
Max
Popularity journey
First recorded1946
First recorded at #359 among boys in Norway in 1946 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Boys
Highest recorded1992–2023
Highest recorded position: #10 among boys in New Zealand, in 2016 (recorded 1992–2023).
New Zealand · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #30 among boys in New South Wales, Australia, in 2025.
New South Wales, Australia · Boys