Xian
A masculine name of Chinese origin meaning virtuous or immortal.
Name Census estimates that about 438 living Americans carry the first name Xian. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 80.4% of registrations being male. The average person named Xian today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Xian births was 2023 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Xian. 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 Xian with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
438
~ 1 in 782,544 Americans
Peak year
2023
26 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,149
Tracked since 1997
Census
Xian in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,774 people with the first name Xian, which placed it at #8,213 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
#8,213
National first-name rank
People counted
1.8K
1,774 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
80.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Xian
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Xian is Asian/Pacific Islander at 80.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.0%) and Black (5.9%). 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 Xian 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 Xian at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander80.7% · 1,432
- Hispanic or Latino6.0% · 106
- Black or African American5.9% · 104
- White3.9% · 70
- Two or more races3.4% · 60
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Xian
Xian leans heavily male at 80.4% of total registrations, but 87 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Xian as a male name
- Ranked #6,149 in 2024
- 15 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (26 births)
Xian as a female name
- Ranked #16,312 in 2015
- 6 female births in 2015
- Peak: 1998 (9 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Xian on both sides of the split. Of the 1,769 people counted with this name, 942 were male (53.3%) and 827 were female (46.7%).
Popularity
Xian: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Xian from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 182 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Xian remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Xian 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 Xian during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Xians live
Origin
Meaning and history of Xian
The name Xian has its origins in Chinese culture and language. It is a romanized spelling of the Chinese character 仙, which means "immortal" or "supernatural being." This character has been in use for over 2,000 years and is deeply rooted in Chinese mythology and Taoism.
The earliest recorded use of the name Xian can be traced back to ancient Chinese literature and philosophical texts. It was often used to refer to mythical beings or deities who had attained immortality through spiritual cultivation and harmony with nature. The concept of Xian was closely tied to the Taoist pursuit of longevity and enlightenment.
One of the most famous early references to Xian is found in the classic Taoist text "Zhuangzi," written around the 4th century BCE. The book features numerous stories and allegories involving Xian, highlighting their ability to transcend the physical world and attain a higher state of existence.
Throughout Chinese history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Xian or were associated with the concept of immortality and Xian. One example is Xian Er, a legendary figure from the Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE) who was believed to have achieved immortality through Taoist practices.
Another prominent figure is Xian Xia, a Taoist philosopher and alchemist from the 3rd century CE. He is credited with contributing to the development of Taoist alchemy and the pursuit of longevity through the cultivation of inner energy.
In the 8th century CE, there was a famous Taoist monk named Xian Zong, who was renowned for his spiritual teachings and his ability to perform miracles. He is believed to have lived for over 200 years and is still revered by Taoists today.
During the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 CE), a renowned poet and government official named Xian Xiu gained recognition for his contributions to literature and his mastery of the Chinese poetic form known as fu.
In more recent times, the name Xian has been associated with Xian Xing-hai, a Chinese composer and musician from the early 20th century who is celebrated for his efforts to modernize traditional Chinese music.
While the name Xian has its roots in ancient Chinese culture and mythology, it continues to be used in modern times, carrying with it the connotations of immortality, longevity, and spiritual enlightenment.
People
Xian + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Xian 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
Xian: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Xian?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 438 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Xian 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 782,544 US residents.
Is Xian a common name?
We classify Xian as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 443 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Xian most popular?
The single biggest year for Xian was 2023, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Xian is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Xian in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,774 people with the name Xian, or 0.59 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,213 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 Xian 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 Xian?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Xian on both sides of the split. Of the 1,769 people counted with this name, 942 were male (53.3%) and 827 were female (46.7%). 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 Xian?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Xian is Asian/Pacific Islander at 80.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.0%) and Black (5.9%). 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 Xian most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Xian in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.7% (1,432 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 Xian in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Xian a male name?
Yes, 80.4% of people registered as Xian 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 Xian still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Xian 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 Xian 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 Xian as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.