Saxon: Baby Name of the Day

The baby name Saxon recently entered the spotlight via season three of The White Lotus.

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

WHAT DOES THE NAME SAXON MEAN?

In Old English, seax referred to a type of dagger or short sword.

The knife lent its name to a Germanic tribe. Or tribes. Originally from Central Europe, they occupied parts of Britain by the fifth century, and settled throughout Europe.

We know them as the Saxons. 

Romantically, we sometimes call them “people of the dagger.”

Plenty of place names incorporate the tribe’s name, including Saxony, in modern-day Germany, as well as Wessex, Sussex, and Middlesex in the UK.

The Anglo-Saxons dominated England during the early Middle Ages.

LAST NAME FIRST

Saxon became a place name and a surname, along with variations like Saxton.

The Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources lists Saxger as a given name, along with Sassa and Sasso. 

Like many surnames, chances are the bearers came from Saxony, or some place in Britain named for the tribe.

As a surname, a few notable figures include:

• Arthur Saxon, a late nineteenth and early twentieth century circus strongman, once the world recorder holder in weight lifting.
• Actor John Saxon was born Carmine Orrico in Brooklyn, and is best remembered for starring with Bruce Lee in 1973’s Enter the Dragon.
• James J. Saxon was Comptroller of the Currency under JFK.

Michigan’s Saxon Motor Car Company produced their first roadster in 1913, but were out of business a decade later.

70s rock band Saxon hails from England.

During the twentieth century, the name was used – but only rarely as a given name.

SAXON AS A PERSONAL NAME

Most surnames appear as first names, at least occasionally.

The baby name Saxon is an exception.

Credit Jack London’s 1913 novel The Valley of the Moon. While it’s not one of his better known stories today, London was a popular, widely-read author. The Valley of the Moon was about a working-class couple struggling to eke out a living in Oakland, California. 

Their names? Billy and Saxon Roberts.

It became a movie in 1914, with silent film star Myrtle Stedman as Saxon.

Between 1914 and 1918, a handful of girls were given the name. 

Then it faded, and it isn’t until the 1950s that it started to surface as a boy’s name, in every small numbers.

SAXON IN POP CULTURE

• Star Wars Rebels gives us a character named Gar Saxon, along with his brother, Tiber. Given the ever-expanding universe the stories occupy, it’s easy to imagine the name re-surfacing, even in a fictional galaxy that never new a Norman conquest. 
• One of Doctor Who’s many adversaries is Harold Saxon.
• Writer Bernard Cornwell, best known as the creator of The Last Kingdom, originally titled his books The Saxon Stories. Cornwell has helped shine a light on the sometimes overlooked Anglo-Saxon period. 

A handful of 20th century figures answer to the name, too, but none so popular to shape Saxon’s image.

Actress Saxon Sharbino starred as Kendra in the 2015 Poltergeist reboot.

But then along came the third season of dark, twisty drama The White Lotus. Max’s series gave us the Ratliff family: Timothy and Victoria, and their mostly-grown children: Saxon, Piper, and Lochlan. The show’s story lines don’t seem likely to influence parents, but they do keep us talking. Played by Patrick Schwarzenegger, Saxon was a significant character and a name viewers would inevitably notice.

HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME SAXON?

Of course, the streaming hit aired in 2025, and our most recent data set is from 2023.

In 2023, just 35 boys were named Saxon. 

Saxon could follow names like Jaxon and Maxton into wider use. As they fade, Saxon feels like a replacement, one with more history than some of those trendier options. 

If you’re after something unusual but on-trend, the baby name Saxon is one to consider.

What do you think of the baby name Saxon? 

First published on June 3, 2015, this post was revised on April 22, 2025.