Xiara
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "highest exaltation".
Name Census estimates that about 322 living Americans carry the first name Xiara. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Xiara today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Xiara births was 2006 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Xiara. 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.
People living today
322
~ 1 in 1,064,454 Americans
Peak year
2006
21 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,888
Tracked since 1990
Census
Xiara in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 282 people with the first name Xiara, which placed it at #30,717 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
#30,717
National first-name rank
People counted
282
282 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
84.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Xiara
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Xiara is Hispanic at 84.0%. The next largest groups are Black (6.7%) and White (5.0%). 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 Xiara 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 Xiara at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino84.0% · 237
- Black or African American6.7% · 19
- White5.0% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 8
- Two or more races1.4% · 4
Popularity
Xiara: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Xiara from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 132 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Xiara remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Xiara 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 Xiara during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Xiaras live
Origin
Meaning and history of Xiara
The name Xiara is believed to have its origins in the ancient Basque language, which is spoken in parts of Spain and France. The name is thought to derive from the Basque word "xiaro," meaning "clear" or "transparent." This linguistic connection suggests that the name may have been given to children as a symbol of clarity and purity.
In the early medieval period, the name Xiara was primarily found in the Basque regions of northern Spain and southwestern France. Historical records from the 9th century show variations of the name, such as "Xiarra" and "Xiarra," appearing in local documents and records.
While the name does not appear to have any direct references in major religious texts or ancient writings, it may have been influenced by the cultural and linguistic traditions of the Basque people, who have a rich oral history and folklore.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Xiara was Xiara de Baigorri, a noblewoman from the Basque region of Baigorri, who lived in the late 12th century. Another notable figure was Xiara de Labourd, a prominent landowner in the Labourd region of southwestern France, who lived in the mid-13th century.
In the 15th century, Xiara Gonzalez de Mendoza (1425-1493) was a Spanish noblewoman and patron of the arts, known for her support of the Renaissance artist Pedro Berruguete. Xiara de Navarra (1470-1537) was a Basque noblewoman who played a significant role in the political affairs of the Kingdom of Navarre during the 16th century.
Xiara Fernández de Velasco (1585-1668) was a Spanish countess and philanthropist who founded several charitable institutions in the city of Burgos during the 17th century.
While the name Xiara has ancient roots in the Basque culture, it has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, with only a few notable individuals bearing this name over the centuries.
People
Xiara + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Xiara 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
Xiara: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Xiara?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 322 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Xiara 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 1,064,454 US residents.
Is Xiara a common name?
We classify Xiara as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 327 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Xiara most popular?
The single biggest year for Xiara was 2006, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Xiara is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Xiara in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 282 people with the name Xiara, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,717 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 Xiara 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 Xiara?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Xiara appears almost entirely female. Of the 281 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Xiara?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Xiara is Hispanic at 84.0%. The next largest groups are Black (6.7%) and White (5.0%). 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 Xiara most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Xiara in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.0% (237 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 Xiara in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Xiara a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Xiara 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 Xiara still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Xiara 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 Xiara 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 are named Xiara?
Find out how many Americans are named Xiara on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.