Sneak Peek Week II — Max

Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I

Sneek Peek Week II Day 3! The peek picked for today is Max.

Max ♂

Max was originally a short form of MAXIMILIAN; now it may also be encountered as short for MAXWELL: or even MAXIMUS. 19^th Century. Bearers: Max Weber (1881-1961), the Russian-born US artist; Max Mallowan (1904-78) – born Edgar – the British archaeologist; Max Rockatansky, the hero of the 1979 film Mad Max and its sequels; Max Dennison, a character in the film Hocus Pocus (1993).

Maximilian ♂

Folklore says that Maximilian was created by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III for his son by combining the names of two ancient Romans he admired – namely Quintus Fabius Maximus Cunctator (d.203 BCE) and Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus (185-129 BCE). There was also a Quintus Fabius Maximus Aemilianus, consul in 145 BCE, and it is possible the name was intended to be a telescoping of his cognomina – Maximus Aemilianus. The baby so named went on to rule as Maximilian I (1459-1519), and there is no doubt that the spread of Maximilian as a given name — first in Germany and then elsewhere — is down to the Hapsburgs. However, there was an obscure 3^rd Century saint called Maximilianus, although he doesn’t appear in the records till the 9^th Century. His name meant ‘belonging to Maximillus’. Maximillus is a diminutive form of MAXIMUS. Diminutive: MAX. French: Maximilien, Italian: Massimiliano, Russian: Maksimilian. Bearers: Maximilien Robespierre (1758-94), the French revolutionary.

Maximus ♂

Latin: maximus ‘greatest’. Maximus was used as a cognomen in Roman times – most notably by members of the aristocratic Fabius clan. Magnus Maximus (c.335-88) – whose full name is not known – was one of a number of rival Roman Emperors between 383 and 385 CE, who is remembered in Welsh legend as Macsen Wledig. Maximus Tiranus (fl.409-411) was another pretender to the imperial throne. There was never, however, any with the garbled name Maximus Decimus Meridius – the name of the hero of the US film Gladiator (2000), who is responsible for raising the name’s profile since the Millennium. 16^th Century. Feminine: Maxima. Italian: Massimo, Russian: Maxim, Maksim, Romanian: Maxim, French: Maxime, Spanish: Maximo, Welsh: MACSEN. Bearers: Maxim Gorky (1868-1936), the Russian writer.

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