A Scottish and English surname the Maxwell family name comes from the location on the Tweed River near the Kelso Bridge. The place was ‘Mackeswell’ which referred to Mack’s stream or river. The Scottish Gaelic form was MacSual originally.

Spelling variations for Maxwell include Makeswell, Maxwaile, Maxweel, Maxwale and Maxuel.
An Irish spelling of Maxwell would be Miskell.

In England the early Maxwell families lived in Yorkshire. The families spread out to Lancashire, Durham, Cumberland and Northumberland. They are also located in the city of London.
Most of Scotland has population with the Maxwell name. The numbers are highest in Lanarkshire, Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, Angus, Dumfries-shire, Kirkcudbrightshire and Midlothian.

Within the United States the Maxwell name is located mostly in Texas, California, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Missouri, Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio, Colorado, Washington and New Jersey.

Famous: William Hamilton Maxwell (19th century Scottish novelist), Lois Maxwell (Canadian actress), Cedric Maxwell (professional basketball player), Gilbert Maxwell (poet, actor and writer), John Maxwell (artist from Scotland), Steamer Maxwell (ice hockey player from Canada) and Billy Maxwell (professional golfer).