Xu
A Chinese name meaning "restoring" or "reviving".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Xu. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Xu today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Xu births was 1988 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Xu. 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 Xu with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Xu. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1988
5 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
1988 SSA rank
#8,463
Tracked since 1988
Census
Xu in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,428 people with the first name Xu, which placed it at #6,569 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
#6,569
National first-name rank
People counted
2.4K
2,428 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
96.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Xu
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Xu is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.6%. The next largest groups are White (2.1%) and Hispanic (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 Xu 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 Xu at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander96.6% · 2,346
- White2.1% · 51
- Hispanic or Latino0.5% · 11
- Two or more races0.4% · 9
- Black or African American0.2% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Popularity
Xu: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Xu 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 Xu during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Xu
The name Xu has its origins in the Chinese language and culture, dating back to ancient times. It is a single-syllable Chinese surname and given name that has been in use for centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Xu can be found in the Book of Documents, an ancient Chinese classic text dating back to the 6th century BC. The name is mentioned in reference to a person who served as a minister during the Shang Dynasty.
In Chinese, the character 许 (Xu) can have various meanings depending on the context, but is often associated with concepts such as "permit," "allow," or "promise." This suggests that the name may have originally been used to signify someone who was trustworthy or had the authority to grant permissions.
Throughout Chinese history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Xu. One of the most famous was Xu Shen, a renowned scholar and philologist who lived during the Han Dynasty (around 58-147 AD). He is best known for compiling the Shuowen Jiezi, one of the earliest and most comprehensive dictionaries of Chinese characters.
Another important figure was Xu Xiake, a renowned geographer and travel writer who lived during the Ming Dynasty (1586-1641). He is celebrated for his extensive travels throughout China and his meticulous documentation of the landscapes, cultures, and customs he encountered.
In the realm of literature, Xu Zhimo was a prominent Chinese poet and essayist who lived from 1897 to 1931. He was a key figure in the modern Chinese literary movement and is known for his lyrical and romantic works that captured the spirit of his time.
Xu Beihong (1895-1953) was a revered Chinese painter and art educator who played a significant role in the development of modern Chinese painting. He is renowned for his ink paintings and his efforts to modernize traditional Chinese art while preserving its cultural heritage.
Another notable individual was Xu Guangqi (1562-1633), a prominent scholar-official during the Ming Dynasty. He was instrumental in the introduction of Western science and technology to China and played a crucial role in the translation of important works, including the first Chinese translation of Euclid's Elements of Geometry.
These are just a few examples of the many influential figures throughout history who have borne the name Xu, reflecting its long-standing cultural significance and the diverse contributions of those who carried it.
People
Xu + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Xu 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
Xu: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Xu?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Xu 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Xu a common name?
We classify Xu as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Xu most popular?
The single biggest year for Xu was 1988, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Xu is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Xu in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,428 people with the name Xu, or 0.80 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,569 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 Xu 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 Xu?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Xu on both sides of the split. Of the 2,433 people counted with this name, 1,501 were male (61.7%) and 932 were female (38.3%). 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 Xu?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Xu is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.6%. The next largest groups are White (2.1%) and Hispanic (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 Xu most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Xu in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.6% (2,346 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 Xu in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Xu a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Xu 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 Xu still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Xu 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 Xu 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 Xu?
You can see how many people have the name Xu on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.