Xitlaly
A feminine name of Nahuatl origin meaning "shooting star".
Name Census estimates that about 1,872 living Americans carry the first name Xitlaly. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Xitlaly today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Xitlaly births was 2004 (155 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Xitlaly. 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.
Key insights
- • Xitlaly is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 17 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.9K
~ 1 in 183,095 Americans
Peak year
2004
155 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,498
Tracked since 1991
Census
Xitlaly in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,303 people with the first name Xitlaly, which placed it at #10,298 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
#10,298
National first-name rank
People counted
1.3K
1,303 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
98.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Xitlaly
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Xitlaly is Hispanic at 98.1%. The next largest groups are White (1.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.4%). 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 Xitlaly 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 Xitlaly at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino98.1% · 1,278
- White1.5% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.1% · 1
Popularity
Xitlaly: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Xitlaly 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 1,035 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Xitlaly 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 Xitlaly during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Xitlalys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. California, Texas, Illinois recorded the most babies named Xitlaly, while Florida, Washington, Colorado recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 179 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Xitlaly
The name Xitlaly has its origins in the Nahuatl language, spoken by the Aztecs and other indigenous people of central Mexico. It is believed to have emerged sometime before the 16th century, when the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the region.
Xitlaly is derived from the Nahuatl words "xitl" meaning "navel" or "center," and "alli" meaning "water." Thus, the name can be interpreted as "center of the water" or "navel of the water," possibly referring to a sacred spring or body of water revered by the Aztecs.
While there are no definitive records of the name appearing in ancient Aztec codices or religious texts, it is likely that Xitlaly was used as a personal name among the indigenous population before the Spanish conquest. The name's etymology suggests a connection to the natural world and the importance of water in Aztec culture and cosmology.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Xitlaly can be found in the writings of the Spanish friar Diego Durán, who documented Aztec culture in the 16th century. In his work "Historia de las Indias de Nueva España e Islas de Tierra Firme," Durán mentions a woman named Xitlaly who was a member of the Aztec nobility.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Xitlaly:
1. Xitlaly Tena (1892-1982), a Mexican painter and printmaker known for her works depicting indigenous themes and traditions.
2. Xitlaly Rodríguez (1964-), a Mexican actress and singer who has appeared in numerous telenovelas and films.
3. Xitlaly Rodríguez Mendoza (1969-), a Mexican politician and former member of the Chamber of Deputies.
4. Xitlaly Aguilar (1978-), a Mexican professional wrestler better known by her ring name Xitlaly.
5. Xitlaly Hernández (1981-), a Mexican journalist and television host.
These examples demonstrate the enduring presence of the name Xitlaly throughout Mexican history, reflecting its deep roots in the indigenous Nahuatl language and Aztec culture.
People
Xitlaly + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Xitlaly 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
Xitlaly: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Xitlaly?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,872 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Xitlaly 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 183,095 US residents.
Is Xitlaly a common name?
We classify Xitlaly as "Rare". It ranks above 93.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,896 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Xitlaly most popular?
The single biggest year for Xitlaly was 2004, when 155 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Xitlaly is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Xitlaly in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,303 people with the name Xitlaly, or 0.43 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,298 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 Xitlaly 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 Xitlaly?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Xitlaly appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,295 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Xitlaly?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Xitlaly is Hispanic at 98.1%. The next largest groups are White (1.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.4%). 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 Xitlaly most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Xitlaly in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.1% (1,278 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 Xitlaly in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Xitlaly a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Xitlaly 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 Xitlaly still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Xitlaly 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 Xitlaly 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 Xitlaly?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Xitlaly on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.