NameCensus.
Very Rare

Xael

A unique invented name of uncertain derivation and meaning.

Name Census estimates that about 82 living Americans carry the first name Xael. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 85.5% of registrations being male. The average person named Xael today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Xael births was 2021 (13 babies).

This page is the full Name Census profile for Xael. 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

  • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Xael. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.

People living today

82

~ 1 in 4,179,931 Americans

Peak year

2021

13 babies that year

Average age

6

years old

2024 SSA rank

#6,789

Tracked since 2010

Gender

Gender distribution for Xael

Xael leans heavily male at 85.5% of total registrations, but 12 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.

86% male
14% female
Male71 (85.5%)Female12 (14.5%)

Xael as a male name

  • Ranked #6,789 in 2024
  • 13 male births in 2024
  • Peak: 2021 (13 births)

Xael as a female name

  • Ranked #17,384 in 2020
  • 5 female births in 2020
  • Peak: 2018 (7 births)

Popularity

Xael: popularity over time

The SSA tracks Xael from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 56 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.

Babies born per year

MaleFemale
0371013201020152020

Decades

Xael 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 Xael during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.

DecadeMaleFemaleTotal
2010s20727
2020s51556

Geography

Where Xaels live

Origin

Meaning and history of Xael

The name Xael is believed to have originated from the ancient Sumerian language, one of the earliest known written languages in the world, dating back to around 3500 BC. The name is thought to be derived from the Sumerian word "xal," which means "to shine" or "to be radiant." This suggests that the name Xael may have been associated with concepts of light, brightness, or divine radiance in ancient Sumerian culture.

While the name's exact origins are shrouded in the mists of antiquity, some scholars have speculated that Xael may have been the name of a minor deity or a celestial being in the Sumerian pantheon. However, there is no definitive evidence of the name appearing in any known Sumerian texts or religious scriptures that have survived to the present day.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Xael can be traced back to ancient Mesopotamia, which encompassed the regions of modern-day Iraq, Syria, and parts of Iran. It is believed that the name was used sporadically in these areas during the height of Sumerian civilization, around the third millennium BC.

One of the earliest known individuals to bear the name Xael was a Sumerian scribe who lived around 2500 BC. This individual was responsible for transcribing and preserving some of the earliest written records of Sumerian literature and mythology.

In the centuries that followed, the name Xael seems to have fallen out of widespread use, likely due to the decline of Sumerian culture and the rise of other civilizations in the region, such as the Akkadians and Babylonians.

However, the name resurfaced briefly during the reign of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, which ruled over much of the ancient Middle East from 550 BC to 330 BC. Records indicate that a notable Persian nobleman named Xael served as a high-ranking official under King Darius I in the 5th century BC.

Later, during the Byzantine Empire, a Greek scholar and mathematician named Xael lived in the 6th century AD. He is credited with making significant contributions to the fields of geometry and astronomy, although few details about his life and work have survived.

In the 12th century AD, a renowned Arab philosopher and theologian named Xael ibn al-Qassim gained recognition for his influential writings on Islamic metaphysics and ethics. His works were widely studied and debated throughout the medieval Islamic world.

Finally, in the 16th century, a Spanish explorer and navigator named Xael de Sotomayor is recorded as having participated in several expeditions to the New World, venturing into what is now modern-day Mexico and Central America.

While the name Xael has remained relatively obscure throughout history, its ancient origins and potential connections to Sumerian mythology and celestial concepts have sparked the interest of linguists and historians alike, ensuring that this enigmatic name continues to intrigue scholars and researchers to this day.

People

Xael + last name combinations

How many people share a full name with Xael 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

Xael: questions and answers

How many people in the U.S. are named Xael?

Name Census puts the figure at roughly 82 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Xael 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 4,179,931 US residents.

Is Xael a common name?

We classify Xael as "Very Rare". It ranks above 61.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 83 babies have been registered with this name.

When was Xael most popular?

The single biggest year for Xael was 2021, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Xael is about 6 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.

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 Xael in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.

Is Xael a male name?

Yes, 85.5% of people registered as Xael 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 Xael still being used today?

Yes. The SSA still recorded Xael 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 Xael 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.

Does every first name have Census demographic data?

No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.

How many people have Xael as a first name?

For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.

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Name Census
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There are 82 people

with the first name

Xael

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