Xara
Of uncertain origin, possibly from the Mongolian khara meaning "black".
Name Census estimates that about 387 living Americans carry the first name Xara. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Xara today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Xara births was 2023 (38 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Xara. 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 Xara with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
387
~ 1 in 885,670 Americans
Peak year
2023
38 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,273
Tracked since 2004
Census
Xara in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 235 people with the first name Xara, which placed it at #34,648 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
#34,648
National first-name rank
People counted
235
235 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
30.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Xara
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Xara is White at 30.6%. The next largest groups are Black (30.6%) and Hispanic (23.0%). 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 Xara 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 Xara at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White30.6% · 72
- Black or African American30.6% · 72
- Hispanic or Latino23.0% · 54
- Two or more races9.8% · 23
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.1% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 2
Popularity
Xara: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Xara from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 164 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
Xara 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 Xara during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Xaras live
Origin
Meaning and history of Xara
The name Xara is believed to have its origins in ancient Mesopotamia, where it was likely derived from the Akkadian word "šarru," meaning "king" or "ruler." This name was often associated with royalty and those of high social status in the region during the third and second millennia BCE.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Xara can be found in cuneiform inscriptions from the ancient city of Ur, dating back to around 2500 BCE. These inscriptions mention a high-ranking official named Xara-ili, whose name translates to "Xara is my god."
In the ancient Sumerian epic of Gilgamesh, one of the earliest known literary works, there is a character named Xara-napishti, who is portrayed as a wise and immortal figure. This character is often interpreted as a representation of the Sumerian flood hero, and his name is thought to be a variant of the name Xara.
During the Neo-Babylonian period, around the 6th century BCE, the name Xara was popularized among the ruling classes. One notable figure from this time was Xara-ukin, a prince and son of the Babylonian king Nabonidus, who ruled from 556 to 539 BCE.
In ancient Greece, the name Xara was sometimes used as a variant spelling of the name Chara, which means "joy" or "delight." This connection suggests that the name may have been associated with positive emotions and happiness in some cultures.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the name Xara. One example is Xara Aidonios, a Greek philosopher from the 5th century BCE who was a student of Socrates and is credited with writing several philosophical works.
Another prominent figure was Xara of Tralles, a female mathematician and philosopher from the 4th century CE, who made significant contributions to the field of geometry and was one of the earliest known female mathematicians in recorded history.
In the medieval period, the name Xara was sometimes used in various regions of Europe, including the Byzantine Empire and parts of the Middle East. One noteworthy individual from this time was Xara of Amida, a 6th-century Byzantine historian and scholar who wrote extensively about the history of the Byzantine Empire.
During the Renaissance, the name Xara saw a resurgence in popularity, particularly in Italy. One example is Xara Gonzaga, an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts who lived in the 16th century and was known for her support of artists and intellectuals.
While the name Xara has remained relatively uncommon in modern times, it has been used by several notable individuals throughout history, such as Xara Alamuddin, a British-Lebanese human rights lawyer and wife of actor George Clooney, and Xara Hindmarsh, an Australian fashion designer and entrepreneur.
People
Xara + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Xara 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
Xara: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Xara?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 387 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Xara 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 885,670 US residents.
Is Xara a common name?
We classify Xara as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 390 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Xara most popular?
The single biggest year for Xara was 2023, when 38 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Xara is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Xara in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 235 people with the name Xara, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #34,648 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 Xara 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 Xara?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Xara appears almost entirely female. Of the 225 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Xara?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Xara is White at 30.6%. The next largest groups are Black (30.6%) and Hispanic (23.0%). 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 Xara most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Xara in the 2020 Census, accounting for 30.6% (72 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 Xara in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Xara a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Xara 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 Xara still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Xara 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 Xara 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 Xara?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.