guides
What Does 'Kekius Maximus' Mean? Memes Behind Elon Musk's New Username Explained
Billionaire and X / Twitter owner Elon Musk has changed his username and profile picture to reference internet culture quite a few times in the past, whether to support cryptocurrencies or just for the laughs. With his last username change, Musk adopted the title of "Kekius Maximus," a name that people who have been keeping an eye on meme culture for a long time will surely recognize.
If this name didn't instantly ring any bells for you, stick with us, we've got the story of the once-popular internet catchphrase covered for you.
What Is ‘Keksius Maximus’?
The catchphrase "Kekius Maximus" is a portmanteau of "kek" and a stereotypical Ancient Roman name such as Flavius Maximus. Let's dig a little bit deeper into each part of it before we go further.
"Kek" originated as a translation of the acronym "lol" when written by members of the Horde faction in World of Warcraft. Instead of seeing "lol" in chat, opposing Alliance players would see "kek" due to the in-game language system between different races and factions.
The word then became a prevalent alternative to "lol" in the late 2000s and early 2010s, primarily on 4chan, spawning many deviating memes, phrases and concepts over time, such as "Topkek" and "Kekistan."
The phrase "Kekius Maximus," which has been used online at least since 2014, likely references Maximus Decimus Meridius, the main character in Ridley Scott's film Gladiator. Therefore it has been associated with imagery of gladiators and soldiers of Ancient Rome, as well as the film itself.
Additionally, "Kekius" translates to "the greatest" or "largest", with the phrase therefore literally translating to "the greatest kek" (while "great kek" is itself a common expression).
What Does "Kekius Maximus" Mean?
Basically, "kekius maximus" is a more flavorful and inventive way of saying "kek," which itself has the same meaning as "lol." Therefore, "kekius maximus" is a phrase that a person familiar with imageboard culture could use when reacting to something they found funny.
It's important to note that using the phrase is likely to set you apart from normies and get you recognized as someone who's familiar with chan culture … or at least it would some years ago.
Elon Musk's 'Kekius Maximus' Username
So, why did Elon Musk set "Kekius Maximus" as his username on X? Nobody knows exactly, but the billionaire has referenced memes both in his posts and with his username and profile picture changes in the past.
Despite some claims that the name change is a pump-and-dump scheme for cryptocurrency, the earliest meme coin borrowing the name from the meme was created after Musk referenced the meme in a post on December 13th, 2024, and not before it.
After Elon Musk changed his username to "Kekius Maximus" on December 31st and set his profile picture to a picture of Pepe the Frog in Ancient Roman armor, the phrase went viral on X, with both Musk and his interaction circle making multiple posts that used the catchphrase without digging too deep into its original meaning.
What is $KEKIUS Meme Coin?
As Elon Musk pulled "Kekius Maximus" from the 2010s and cast it back into the spotlight, multiple crypto enthusiasts decided to cash in on the meme, minting more than just one $KEKIUS coin on the Solana network. Many of these coins surged and rapidly plummeted on Pump.fun on December 31st, 2024, with the most prominent one trading at about $0.15.
According to the finance site Finbold, an anonymous trader notably turned their early $55,000 investment in the Kekius Maximus (KEKIUS) meme coin into $1 million after Musk embraced the name and caused it to surge by 980 percent in value.
For the full history of Keksius Maximus, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.
