Meaning "prosperous", "flourishing", or "successful" in Chinese.
Name Census estimates that about 12 living Americans carry the first name Xing. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 58.3% of registrations being female. The average person named Xing today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Xing births was 2000 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Xing. 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 Xing with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Xing. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
12
~ 1 in 28,562,862 Americans
Peak year
2000
12 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2000 SSA rank
#12,071
Tracked since 2000
Census
Xing in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,594 people with the first name Xing, which placed it at #6,236 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
#6,236
National first-name rank
People counted
2.6K
2,594 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
97.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Xing
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Xing is Asian/Pacific Islander at 97.8%. The next largest groups are White (1.3%) and Two or More Races (0.5%). 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 Xing 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 Xing at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander97.8% · 2,538
- White1.3% · 35
- Two or more races0.5% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino0.2% · 5
- Black or African American0.2% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Xing
Xing is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 12 total registrations, 5 (41.7%) were male and 7 (58.3%) were female.
Xing as a male name
- Ranked #12,071 in 2000
- 5 male births in 2000
- Peak: 2000 (5 births)
Xing as a female name
- Ranked #13,111 in 2000
- 7 female births in 2000
- Peak: 2000 (7 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Xing on both sides of the split. Of the 2,599 people counted with this name, 1,377 were male (53.0%) and 1,222 were female (47.0%).
Popularity
Xing: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Xing 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 Xing during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5 | 7 | 12 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Xing
The name Xing has its origins in Chinese culture, originating as a word meaning "prosperous" or "flourishing." It can be traced back to ancient Chinese texts and records from as early as the Zhou Dynasty (1046–256 BCE).
In traditional Chinese philosophy, the concept of "xing" was closely tied to the idea of one's inherent nature or true self. It was believed that by cultivating one's xing, an individual could achieve a state of harmony and fulfillment.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Xing can be found in the Analects of Confucius, a collection of sayings and teachings from the Chinese philosopher Confucius (551–479 BCE). In this text, the name Xing is mentioned in reference to several of Confucius' disciples.
Throughout Chinese history, there have been notable individuals who bore the name Xing. One such figure was Xing Tao, a philosopher and scholar who lived during the Han Dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE). Xing Tao is known for his contributions to the development of Confucian thought and his commentaries on classical texts.
Another prominent figure named Xing was Xing Jie, a Buddhist monk and calligrapher who lived during the Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE). Xing Jie was renowned for his mastery of calligraphy and his influential teachings on Buddhist philosophy.
In more modern times, Xing Shan (1899–1984) was a celebrated Chinese painter and calligrapher who played a significant role in preserving traditional Chinese art forms during the tumultuous years of the 20th century.
Additionally, Xing Xijing (1853–1924) was a prominent Chinese diplomat and politician who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs during the late Qing Dynasty and the early years of the Republic of China.
While the name Xing has historically been associated with Chinese culture, it has also been adopted by individuals of diverse backgrounds around the world, reflecting the global influence of Chinese names and their underlying philosophical meanings.
People
Xing + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Xing 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
Xing: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Xing?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Xing 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 28,562,862 US residents.
Is Xing a common name?
We classify Xing as "Very Rare". It ranks above 32.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 12 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Xing most popular?
The single biggest year for Xing was 2000, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Xing is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Xing in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,594 people with the name Xing, or 0.86 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,236 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 Xing 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 Xing?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Xing on both sides of the split. Of the 2,599 people counted with this name, 1,377 were male (53.0%) and 1,222 were female (47.0%). 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 Xing?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Xing is Asian/Pacific Islander at 97.8%. The next largest groups are White (1.3%) and Two or More Races (0.5%). 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 Xing most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Xing in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.8% (2,538 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 Xing in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Xing a female name?
Yes, 58.3% of people registered as Xing 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 Xing still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Xing 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 Xing 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 Xing?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.