Xang
A masculine name of Southeast Asian origin, possibly derived from the Vietnamese surname Trang.
Name Census estimates that about 23 living Americans carry the first name Xang. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Xang today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Xang births was 1990 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Xang. 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 Xang. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
23
~ 1 in 14,902,363 Americans
Peak year
1990
8 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
1993 SSA rank
#8,673
Tracked since 1984
Census
Xang in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 321 people with the first name Xang, which placed it at #28,132 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#28,132
National first-name rank
People counted
321
321 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
95.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Xang
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Xang is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.3%. The next largest groups are White (1.6%) and Black (0.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Xang described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Xang at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander95.3% · 306
- White1.6% · 5
- Black or African American0.9% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 3
- Two or more races0.9% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Popularity
Xang: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Xang from the 1980s through to the 1990s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 14 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
Xang 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 Xang during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Xangs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Xang
The name Xang has its origins in the ancient Lhao language of the Hmong people, an ethnic group native to the mountainous regions of southern China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. The name can be traced back to the 3rd century BCE, derived from the Lhao word "xang," which means "mountain stream" or "flowing water."
In early Hmong culture, names were often inspired by nature and the environment, reflecting the close connection between the Hmong people and the rugged landscapes they inhabited. The name Xang was likely given to children born near or around a mountain stream, symbolizing the purity, clarity, and ever-flowing nature of water.
While the name Xang does not appear in any ancient texts or religious scriptures, it has been documented in various Hmong genealogical records and oral traditions passed down through generations. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name dates back to the 7th century CE, when a Hmong chieftain named Xang Vang led his clan in their migration from southern China to the highlands of modern-day Vietnam.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Xang. In the 12th century, Xang Tou was a revered Hmong shaman and healer, renowned for her knowledge of traditional medicine and her ability to communicate with the spirit world. During the 16th century, Xang Lee was a skilled warrior and leader who played a significant role in defending his clan against rival tribes in the rugged mountains of Laos.
In the 19th century, Xang Xiong was a prominent Hmong artist and craftsman, known for his intricate textile designs and woodcarvings, which depicted the rich cultural traditions and stories of his people. Xang Vang, born in 1895, was a respected elder and community leader who helped preserve Hmong language and customs during the turbulent years of the Vietnam War.
More recently, in the 20th century, Xang Chao (1924-2001) was a renowned Hmong poet and author, whose works celebrated the beauty of nature and the resilience of his people in the face of adversity. His poetic writings have been widely studied and appreciated within Hmong communities around the world.
People
Xang + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Xang 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
Xang: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Xang?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 23 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Xang 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 14,902,363 US residents.
Is Xang a common name?
We classify Xang as "Very Rare". It ranks above 42.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 24 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Xang most popular?
The single biggest year for Xang was 1990, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Xang is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Xang in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 321 people with the name Xang, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,132 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Xang in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Xang?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Xang leans strongly male. 278 people counted with this name were male (87.4%), compared with 40 female bearers (12.6%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Xang?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Xang is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.3%. The next largest groups are White (1.6%) and Black (0.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Xang most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Xang in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.3% (306 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Xang in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Xang a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Xang in the SSA data are male. 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 Xang still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Xang 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 Xang 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.
How common is the name Xang?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.