Xaela
An invented name with no clear meaning or etymology.
Name Census estimates that about 43 living Americans carry the first name Xaela. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Xaela today is around 5 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Xaela births was 2020 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Xaela. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Xaela. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
43
~ 1 in 7,971,031 Americans
Peak year
2020
10 babies that year
Average age
5
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,022
Tracked since 2015
Popularity
Xaela: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Xaela from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 33 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Xaela by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Xaela during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Xaela
The name Xaela is thought to have its origins in ancient Akkadian, one of the earliest recorded Semitic languages spoken in Mesopotamia around 2800 BC. The name is believed to be derived from the Akkadian word "xaltu," which means "life" or "living being." This suggests that the name Xaela may have originally been used to symbolize vitality, fertility, or the essence of life itself.
One of the earliest known references to the name Xaela can be found in a cuneiform tablet dating back to around 2500 BC, discovered in the ancient city of Ur in present-day Iraq. The tablet appears to list the names of various individuals, including someone identified as "Xaela, daughter of Sargon."
In ancient Sumerian mythology, there is a minor goddess named Xaela, who was associated with the protection of newborn infants and mothers during childbirth. This connection to motherhood and new life further reinforces the potential meaning of the name as a symbol of vitality and regeneration.
The first recorded bearer of the name Xaela was likely Queen Xaela of Elam, who ruled the ancient kingdom of Elam (located in modern-day Iran) around 2400 BC. She is mentioned in several Akkadian and Elamite inscriptions as a powerful and influential ruler, known for her military campaigns and efforts to expand the Elamite Empire.
Another notable figure with the name Xaela was a Phoenician explorer and navigator who lived around 800 BC. According to ancient Greek accounts, Xaela led a daring expedition across the Mediterranean Sea, establishing trade routes and settlements in various regions, including the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa.
In the 5th century AD, there was a Christian martyr named Xaela, who was executed in Rome during the persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Diocletian. She is venerated as a saint in some Christian traditions, and her name appears in several early Christian texts and martyrologies.
While the name Xaela fell out of widespread use for many centuries, it experienced a brief resurgence in popularity during the Renaissance period. One notable bearer was Xaela Colonna (1490-1555), an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts, who was known for her support of artists and scholars in Rome during the 16th century.
People
Xaela + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Xaela as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with X
Other first names starting with X with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Xaela: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Xaela?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 43 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Xaela going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 7,971,031 US residents.
Is Xaela a common name?
We classify Xaela as "Very Rare". It ranks above 52.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 43 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Xaela most popular?
The single biggest year for Xaela was 2020, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Xaela is about 5 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Xaela in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Xaela a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Xaela in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Xaela still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Xaela in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Xaela can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Xaela?
See how many Americans are named Xaela on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.