Axel (also Aksel) is a Scandinavian, German, French, and Dutch masculine given name. In Estonia, Denmark, and Norway the spelling Aksel is more common. The Finnish form of the name is Akseli, while a French feminine form is Axelle. Axel is sometimes used as a surname.
Because the Danish archbishop Absalon (1128–1201) was also known as "Axel of Lund", the name has been interpreted as a corruption of the Hebrew name Absalom. Axel arose via Axelen from Absalon, possibly by conflation with the existing names Askel and Askil, medieval forms of the Old Norse name Ásketill, from ans "god" and ketill "cauldron/helmet".Också förväxlingar mellan Askil och Absalon samt Askil och Asgut har skett i fda. Om man nu vill hänvisa till rundanskans askil — i rundanskan finns således formen — borde man ha skrivit 'Fda. Eskil', ty det är i denna spalt man finner askil.En dat is waar. Namn och bygd 62 (1974), p. 183 .
As a given name
Axel (born 1977), Argentine singer-songwriter Absalon (1128–1201), Danish archbishop also known as Axel of Lund Prince Axel of Denmark (1888–1964) Axel Aabrink (1887–1965), Danish painter Axel Gustav Adlercreutz (1821–1880), Swedish politician and civil servant Axel Alfredsson (1902–1966), Swedish footballer Axel Algmark (born 1990), Swedish pop singer Axel von Ambesser (1910–1988), German actor and film director Axel Anderberg (1860–1937), Swedish architect Axel Andersen (1891–1931), Danish gymnast Axel Andersen Byrval (1875–1957), Danish football player and manager Axel Anderson (1929–2012), German-born Puerto Rican actor, television producer and television host Axel Andersson (1887–1951), Swedish track and field athlete Axel Andrésson (1895–1961), Icelandic footballer and football club founder Axel Óskar Andrésson (born 1998), Icelandic footballer Axel Aubert (1873–1943), Norwegian chemical engineer Axel Augis (born 1990), French gymnast Axel Axelsson (born 1942), Icelandic footballer Axel Axelsson (born 1951), Icelandic handball player Axel Axgil (1915–2011), Danish gay rights activist, first man to enter into a same-sex registered partnership Axel Bäck (born 1987), Swedish alpine skier Axel Bachmann (born 1989), Paraguayan chess player Axel Bakayoko (born 1998), French footballer Axel Bakunts (1899–1937), Armenian prose writer, film-writer, translator and activist Axel Bassani (born 1999), Italian motorcycle racer Axel Bauer (born 1961), French singer Axel J. Beck (1894–1981), American federal judge Axel D. Becke (born 1953), Canadian physical chemist, professor and researcher Axel Bellinghausen (born 1983), German footballer Axel Berg (1856–1929), Danish architect Axel Berg (born 1959), German politician Axel Berndt (born 19??), German sprint canoer Axel Bernstein (1974–2017), German politician Axel Birnbaum (born 1966), Austrian fencer Axel Blake (born 1988), British stand-up comedian Axel Bloch (1911–1998), Danish fencer Jan Axel Blomberg (born 1969), Norwegian heavy metal drummer (Mayhem, Arcturus) Axel Blomqvist (1894–1965), Swedish speed skater Axel Blumberg (1981–2004), Argentine kidnap and murder victim Axel Gudbrand Blytt (1843–1898), Norwegian botanist and geologist Jonas Axel Boeck (1833–1873), Norwegian marine biologist Axel Boëthius (1889–1969), Swedish scholar and archaeologist of Etruscan culture Axel Boman (born 19??), Swedish house music DJ and producer Axel Borgmann (born 1994), German footballer Axel Borup-Jørgensen (1924–2012), Danish composer Axel Börsch-Supan (born 1954), German economist and researcher Axel Brage (born 1989), Swedish ice hockey player Axel Braun (born 19??), Italian adult film producer and director Axel Brauns (born 1963), German writer and filmmaker Axel Ludvig Broström (1838–1905), Swedish shipping magnate Axel Brown (born 1992), Trinidadian - British bobsledder Axel T. Brunger (born 1956), German-born American biophysicist Axel Bruns (born 19??), German-born Australian scholar Axel Brusewitz (1881–1950), Swedish political scientist and professor Axel Buch (1930–1998), Norwegian politician Axel Bulthaupt (born 1966), German journalist, entertainer and television presenter Axel von dem Bussche (1919–1993), German WWII military officer, attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler Axel Cadier (1906–1974), Swedish wrestler Axel Chapelle (born 1995), French pole vaulter Axel Cleeremans (born 1962), Belgian cognitive scientist and professor Axel Clerget (born 1987), French judoka Axel Coldevin (1900–1992), Norwegian historian Axel Collett (1880–1968), Norwegian landowner, timber merchant and sawmill owner Axel Coon (born 1975), German musician Axel Corti (1933–1993), Austrian screenwriter, film director and radio host Axel Daeseleire (born 1968), Belgian actor Axel Danielson (1867–1949), Swedish journalist and Swedish editor Axel Danielsson (1863–1899), Swedish socialist agitator, journalist and writer Axel de Reuterskiöld (1860–1937), Swedish baron and philatelist Axel Didriksson (born 19??), Mexican writer, academic and professor Axel Dieter Jr. (born 1990), German professional wrestler Axel Disasi (born 1998), French footballer Axel Domont (born 1990), French racing cyclist Axel Donczew (born 2010), Welsh footballer Axel Doruelo (born 1982), Filipino basketball player Axel Downard-Wilke (born 1966), transport planner Axel Dreher (born 1972), German economist Axel Drolsum (1846–1927), Norwegian librarian Axel Düberg (1927–2001), Swedish film actor Axel Dünnwald-Metzler (1939–2004), German footballer Axel Edelstam (1924–2012), Swedish diplomat Axel Eggebrecht (1899–1991), German journalist and writer Axel Ehnström (born 1990), Finnish singer-songwriter Axel Eidstedt (born 1995), Swedish ice hockey player Axel Ekblom (1893–1957), Swedish sport shooter Axel Elmlund (1838–1901), ballet dancer and stage actor Axel Elofs (1903–1983), Swedish long-distance runner Axel Ender (1853–1920), Norwegian painter and sculptor Axel Enström (1893–1977), Swedish industrialist Axel Fredrik Enström (1875–1948), Swedish electrical engineer Axel Eriksson (1884–1975), Swedish rower Axel Wilhelm Eriksson (1846–1901) Swedish ornithologist, settler, explorer and trader Axel Erlandson (1884–1964), Swedish-born American farmer and horticulturalist Axel von Fersen the Elder (1719–1794), Swedish statesman and soldier Axel von Fersen the Younger (1755–1810), Swedish count, diplomat, military general and statesman Axel Firsoff (1912–1981), Swedish-British amateur astronomer and author Axel Fischer (born 1966), German politician Axel Foley (born 1991), American hip hop musician Axel Olof Freudenthal (1836–1911), Finnish philologist and politician Axel Gabrielsson (1886–1975), Swedish rower Axel Gade (1860–1921), Danish violinist, composer and conductor Axel Gedaschko (born 1959), German politician Axel Geller (born 1999), Argentine tennis player Axel Gjöres (1889–1979), Swedish politician Axel Gnos (born 2003), Swiss-French racing driver Axel Gotthard (born 1959), German historian and professor Axel Graatkjær (1885–1969), Danish cinematographer Axel Grandjean (1847–1932), Danish composer and conductor Axel Gresvig (born 1941), Norwegian competitive sailor Axel Grönberg (1918–1988), Swedish wrestler Axel Gyldenstierne (–1603) Danish-Norwegian official and Governor-general of Norway Axel Gyllenkrok (1665–1730), Swedish baron, military general and governor of Gothenburg Axel Gyllenkrok (1888–1946), Norwegian sport shooter Axel Gyntersberg (–1588), Norwegian nobleman and feudal overlord Axel Otto Hagemann (1856–1907), Norwegian politician Axel Hager (born 1969), German beach volleyball player Axel Haig (1835–1921), Swedish-born British artist, architect and illustrator Axel Hallberg (born 1999), Swedish politician Axel Hamberg (1863–1933), Swedish mineralogist, geographer, explorer, photographer and professor of geography Axel Hampus Dalström (1829–1882), Finnish architect Axel Hansen (1899–1933), Danish cyclist Axel Henry Hansen (1887–1980), Norwegian gymnast Axel Härstedt (born 1987), Swedish discus thrower Axel Haverich (born 1953), German cardiac surgeon Axel Hedfors (aka Axwell, born 1977), Swedish DJ and musician Axel Hedenlund (1888–1919), Swedish track and field athlete Axel Heiberg (1848–1932), Norwegian diplomat and financier Axel Heiberg (1908–1988), Norwegian judge Axel Heiberg Stang (1904–1974), Norwegian politician, landowner and forester Axel C. Heitmann (born 1959), German business executive Axel Hellstrom (1893–1933), German muscle reader, mentalist and stage magician Axel Helsted (1847–1907), Danish painter Axel Nicolai Herlofson (1845–1910), Norwegian fraudster and criminal Axel Hervelle (born 1983), Belgian basketball player Axel Hilgenstöhler (born 1975), German record producer, mixing engineer and guitarist Axel Hirsoux (born 1982), Belgian singer Axel Høeg-Hansen (1877–1947), Danish architect Axel Högel (1884–1970), Swedish actor Axel Höjer (1890–1974), Swedish physician Axel Holmström (anarchist) (1881–1947), Swedish anarchist Axel Holmström (ice hockey) (born 1996), Swedish ice hockey player Axel Holst (1860–1931), Norwegian physician and professor of hygiene and bacteriology Axel Honneth (born 1949), German philosopher, theorist and professor Axel Horn (1913–2001), American artist Axel Hultgren (1886–1974), Swedish metallurgist Axel Hultman (1869–1935), Swedish actor Axel Hütte (born 1951), German photographer Axel Ingwersen (18??–19??), Danish sailor Axel Jang (born 1968), German bobsledder Axel Janse (1888–1973), Swedish gymnast Axel Jansson (sport shooter) (1882–1909), Swedish sport shooter Axel Jansson (1916–1968), Swedish politician Axel Jensen (1899–1968), Danish long-distance runner Axel Jensen (1932–2003), Norwegian author Axel P. Jensen (1885–1972), Danish landscape painter
Axel Kacou (born 1995), Ivorian-French footballer Axel Kahn (1944–2021), French scientist and geneticist Axel Kassegger (born 1966), Austrian politician Axel Keller (born 1977), German footballer Axel Kicillof (born 1971), Argentine economist and politician Axel Kielland (1907–1963), journalist and playwright Axel Klinckowström (1867–1936), Swedish baron, zoologist, explorer, fiction writer and memoirist Axel Kober (born 1970), German conductor Axel Kock (1851–1935), Swedish philologist and professor of Scandinavian languages Axel Koenders (born 1959), Dutch triathlete Axel Köhler (born 1959), German countertenor and opera director Axel Kolle (born 1973), Norwegian footballer Axel Cédric Konan (born 1983), Ivorian footballer Axel Krause (born 1958), German painter and graphic artist Axel Kristiansson (1914–1999), Swedish politician Axel Kruse (born 1967), German footballer Axel Kühn (born 1967), German bobsledder Axel Kurck (1555–1630), Finnish warlord Axel Lapp (born 1966), German curator, art historian and publisher Axel Lawarée (born 1973), Belgian footballer Axel Leijonhufvud (1933–2022), Swedish economist and professor Axel Lerche (1903–1949), Danish sports shooter Axel Lesser (born 1946), German cross country skier Axel Lewenhaupt (1917–2018), Swedish diplomat Axel Liebmann (1849–1876), Danish composer Axel Lille (1848–1921), Finnish journalist and politician Axel Lillie (1603–1662), Swedish soldier and politician Axel Lindahl (photographer) (1841–1906), Swedish photographer Axel Lindstrom (1895–1940), Swedish baseball player Axel Ljung (1884–1938), Swedish gymnast and track and field athlete Axel Ljungdahl (1897–1995), Swedish Air Force general Aksel Lund Svindal, Norwegian alpine ski racer Axel Fredrik Londen (1859–1928), Finnish sports shooter Axel Louissaint (born 1996), Swiss basketball player Axel Løvenskiold (1912–1980), Norwegian landowner and painter Axel Löwen (1686–1773), Swedish nobleman and military officer Axel Mackenrott (born 1969), German heavy metal keyboardist (Masterplan)