Xanthe
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "yellow-haired" or "fair-haired".
Name Census estimates that about 296 living Americans carry the first name Xanthe. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Xanthe today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Xanthe births was 2001 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Xanthe. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Xanthe with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
296
~ 1 in 1,157,954 Americans
Peak year
2001
12 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2023 SSA rank
#17,473
Tracked since 1964
Census
Xanthe in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 356 people with the first name Xanthe, which placed it at #26,232 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
#26,232
National first-name rank
People counted
356
356 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
56.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Xanthe
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Xanthe is White at 56.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.1%) and Black (12.1%). 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 Xanthe 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 Xanthe at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White56.2% · 200
- Hispanic or Latino21.1% · 75
- Black or African American12.1% · 43
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.1% · 18
- Two or more races5.1% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 2
Popularity
Xanthe: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Xanthe from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 77 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Xanthe 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 Xanthe 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 Xanthe
The name Xanthe has Greek origins, derived from the Greek word "xanthos" which means "yellow" or "golden-haired." It is believed to have been in use since ancient times, as early as the 5th century BC.
In Greek mythology, Xanthe was the name of one of the Oceanids, the three thousand daughters of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys. She was also the name of a nymph who was loved by the river god Scamander.
The earliest recorded use of the name Xanthe can be found in ancient Greek literature, such as the works of Homer and Hesiod. It was a relatively uncommon name in ancient Greece, but it was used by some notable figures.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Xanthe was Xanthe of Samos, a Greek historian and philosopher who lived in the 5th century BC. She is believed to have written a history of the Lydians, although her work has been lost.
Another notable Xanthe was Xanthe of Lesbos, a Greek poet who lived in the 3rd century BC. She was part of the circle of poets and scholars associated with the Library of Alexandria and is believed to have written poetry, although none of her works have survived.
In the 17th century, the name Xanthe was used by Xanthe Jerrold, an English writer and playwright who lived from 1628 to 1685. She wrote several plays and novels, including "The Court Cupid" and "The Constant Nymph."
In the 19th century, Xanthe Fitzpatrick was an Irish poet and playwright who lived from 1859 to 1925. She wrote several plays and collections of poetry, including "The Flower of the World" and "The Pipes of Pan."
More recently, Xanthe Elphinstone was an Australian novelist and children's author who lived from 1926 to 2007. She wrote several books for children, including "The Galloping Gardeners" and "The Herd-Boy of Timbuctoo."
While the name Xanthe has Greek origins and historical references, it has remained a relatively uncommon name throughout history. However, its unique sound and meaning have made it a distinctive choice for parents seeking a name with a touch of ancient Greek heritage.
People
Xanthe + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Xanthe 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
Xanthe: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Xanthe?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 296 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Xanthe 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 1,157,954 US residents.
Is Xanthe a common name?
We classify Xanthe as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 309 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Xanthe most popular?
The single biggest year for Xanthe was 2001, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Xanthe is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Xanthe in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 356 people with the name Xanthe, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,232 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 Xanthe 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 Xanthe?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Xanthe leans strongly female. 336 people counted with this name were female (95.7%), compared with 15 male bearers (4.3%). 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 Xanthe?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Xanthe is White at 56.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.1%) and Black (12.1%). 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 Xanthe most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Xanthe in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.2% (200 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 Xanthe in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Xanthe a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Xanthe 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 Xanthe still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Xanthe 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 Xanthe 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 many Americans are named Xanthe?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.