Xia
A Chinese gender-neutral given name meaning "sublime" or "soaring."
Name Census estimates that about 763 living Americans carry the first name Xia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Xia today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Xia births was 2019 (37 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Xia. 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 Xia with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
763
~ 1 in 449,219 Americans
Peak year
2019
37 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,125
Tracked since 1981
Census
Xia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,306 people with the first name Xia, which placed it at #5,253 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
#5,253
National first-name rank
People counted
3.3K
3,306 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
85.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Xia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Xia is Asian/Pacific Islander at 85.2%. The next largest groups are Black (5.2%) and White (3.8%). 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 Xia 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 Xia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander85.2% · 2,818
- Black or African American5.2% · 171
- White3.8% · 126
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 120
- Two or more races1.9% · 62
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 9
Popularity
Xia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Xia from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 251 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Xia remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Xia 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 Xia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Xias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Xia, while Florida, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 37 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Xia
The name Xia is believed to have originated in ancient China, where it was closely associated with the Xia Dynasty, one of the earliest dynasties in Chinese history. The Xia Dynasty is thought to have ruled from around the 21st to the 16th century BCE, although the exact dates are still debated by historians.
The name Xia is derived from the Chinese character 夏, which means "summer" or "great." This character was used to represent the Xia Dynasty, and it is believed that the dynasty was named after the Xia tribe or clan, which was a dominant group during that time period.
In ancient Chinese texts, such as the "Shiji" (Records of the Grand Historian) by Sima Qian, the Xia Dynasty is described as a pivotal period in Chinese civilization, during which the foundations of the country's culture and society were laid. The name Xia is closely associated with this era and is considered one of the most historically significant names in Chinese history.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Xia was Yu the Great, also known as Da Yu or Xia Yu, who is believed to have lived around the 21st century BCE. According to legend, Yu was a renowned leader who gained fame for his efforts in controlling the floods that plagued ancient China. He is often credited as the founder of the Xia Dynasty.
Another notable figure with the name Xia was Xia Gui, a Chinese philosopher and politician who lived during the Han Dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE). Xia Gui was known for his expertise in the study of the "Yi Jing" (Book of Changes) and his contributions to the development of Confucian thought.
In the field of literature, one of the most famous individuals with the name Xia was Xia Yuanji, a renowned poet and scholar who lived during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE). Xia Yuanji's poetry was highly regarded for its elegance and depth, and she is considered one of the greatest female poets in Chinese history.
Moving forward in time, Xia Minghan was a prominent Chinese painter who lived during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Xia Minghan was known for his intricate and detailed landscape paintings, which were widely celebrated for their beauty and technical mastery.
Finally, Xia Gui was a Chinese mathematician and astronomer who lived during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). Xia Gui made significant contributions to the development of Chinese mathematics and astronomy, and his works were highly influential in the field of science during that time period.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who have carried the name Xia, a name that has deep roots in Chinese culture and holds a significant place in the country's rich heritage.
People
Xia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Xia 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
Xia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Xia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 763 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Xia 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 449,219 US residents.
Is Xia a common name?
We classify Xia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 778 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Xia most popular?
The single biggest year for Xia was 2019, when 37 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Xia is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Xia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,306 people with the name Xia, or 1.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,253 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 Xia 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 Xia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Xia leans strongly female. 2,934 people counted with this name were female (88.6%), compared with 379 male bearers (11.4%). 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 Xia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Xia is Asian/Pacific Islander at 85.2%. The next largest groups are Black (5.2%) and White (3.8%). 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 Xia most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Xia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.2% (2,818 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 Xia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Xia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Xia 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 Xia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Xia 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 Xia 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 people have the name Xia?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.