Baby Name Pax: Rare and Meaningful

The baby name Pax may be just three letters, but it’s rich with style and meaning.

Thanks to Virginia for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.

WHAT DOES THE NAME PAX MEAN?

The baby name Pax is one of those Latin origin word names. Maybe you can translate without thinking about it. Pax means peace.

It’s the kind of virtue name that feels unambiguously good. Universal, even.

The Pax Romana refers to a long period in the first and second centuries, free of warfare, after Rome had conquered the world as they knew it.

The Emperor Augustus was the ruler responsible for the peace, as well as the propaganda machine that convinced the Roman people to embrace the unfamiliar condition.

Around this time, peace was personified as the goddess Pax.

PAX IN ROMAN MYTHOLOGY

Yes, that’s right – the Roman goddess of peace.

The Greeks named their goddess of peace Irene.

While Irene – as well as forms like Irina and Eirini – remain exclusively feminine, the Latin Pax crossed gender lines, and is now more commonly masculine.

The Spanish Paz, on the other hand, became a feminine possibility. Paz is the Spanish word for peace, from the Latin. Like several first names, it originates with a title of the Virgin Mary.  In this case, it’s Nuestra Señora de la Paz, or Our Lady of Peace. While it’s rare in the US, a handful of figures make it familiar, like Spanish-born actress Paz Vega.

Star Wars fans might also think of Paz Vizsla, which makes the name masculine again.

ANOTHER ORIGIN FOR PAX

The meaning of the name Pax is fairly clear, but there are at least two other origins sometimes mentioned:

• The Mayan solar calendar lists Pax as one of 18 months, the month for planting.
• In Pre-Norman England, the personal name Pæcc was used. While that meaning is lost, it survives in the place name, surname, and now first name Paxton.

The baby name Pax was used in tiny numbers in the 1970s, mostly as a boy’s name.

Then former power couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt put the baby name Pax on parents’ radar. They welcomed son Pax Thien Jolie-Pitt in 2007.

It sounds quite a bit like classic Max, a twenty-first century staple. Paxton, too, has ranked in the US Top 1000 since the late 1990s.

There’s no question that the celebrity birth announcement boosted the use of this name.

HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME PAX?

The baby name Pax appeared in US popularity data just twice prior to the 2000s. Seven boys received the name in 1974, and five in 1975. 

Beginning in 2007, however, the name Pax has increased in use. As of 2023, 62 boys received the name.

It’s also occasionally heard as a girl’s name. Five girls were named Pax in 2023.

MEANINGFUL AND MODERN

The baby name Pax combines two styles in one. It shares the short, high energy punch of modern picks like Axel and Kai. 

It’s very much a twenty-first century choice. It fits with Maddox and Knox – Pax Jolie-Pitt’s real-life brothers – as well as boy names like Hendrix.

And yet, the meaning of Pax makes this an unambiguous virtue name, too. Pax might feel quiet, even contemplative rather than brash.

Both rare and familiar, meaningful and subtle, the baby name Pax is likely to please parents for lots of different reasons.

What do you think of the baby name Pax? 

First published on September 12, 2011, this post was revised on December 9, 2020 and again on November 28, 2024.