Maxine is the feminine form of Max, which comes from the Latin Maximus and means "greatest"; it was coined in the English-speaking world in the late 19th century. It was a fashionable name of the 1920s and 1930s and has returned as parents rediscover vintage names with a strong nickname. Maxine re-entered the US top 1000 in 2016 and has risen every year since, from number 901 to number 497 in 2025, its best rank in this century.