Maverick is a modern American word name meaning "independent" or "nonconformist". The word comes from Samuel Maverick, a 19th-century Texas rancher who refused to brand his cattle, so that any unbranded calf came to be called a maverick. Tom Cruise's call sign in the 1986 film Top Gun turned it into a given name. Maverick ranked number 864 in the United States in 2000, rose from number 184 in 2015 into the top 100 in 2017, peaked at number 36 in 2024 and ranks number 49 among boys in 2025.