Xao
A variation of the Chinese name Xiao meaning "petite" or "small".
Name Census estimates that about 26 living Americans carry the first name Xao. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Xao today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Xao births was 1991 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Xao. 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 Xao. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
26
~ 1 in 13,182,859 Americans
Peak year
1991
8 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
1993 SSA rank
#8,674
Tracked since 1990
Census
Xao in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 297 people with the first name Xao, which placed it at #29,680 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
#29,680
National first-name rank
People counted
297
297 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
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 Xao
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Xao is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.6%. The next largest groups are White (1.7%) and Hispanic (0.7%). 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 Xao 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 Xao at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander96.6% · 287
- White1.7% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 2
- Two or more races0.7% · 2
- Black or African American0.3% · 1
Popularity
Xao: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Xao 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 Xao during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 27 | 0 | 27 |
Geography
Where Xaos live
Origin
Meaning and history of Xao
The name Xao is believed to have its origins in ancient Mesopotamia, where it was derived from the Akkadian word "xau," meaning "to protect" or "to guard." This name was commonly used among the ruling classes and warrior castes of the region during the third millennium BCE.
In the ancient Sumerian city of Uruk, records from around 2500 BCE mention a high-ranking military commander named Xao-Enki, who was revered for his bravery and leadership in defending the city from foreign invaders. The name Xao was also found inscribed on clay tablets and cuneiform writings from the same era, suggesting its widespread use among the elite circles of Mesopotamian society.
During the height of the Babylonian Empire, around 1800 BCE, the name Xao was associated with the god of wisdom and protection, Nabu. Several high-ranking priests and scribes bore this name, as it was believed to bestow divine favor and wisdom upon its bearer.
In the ancient Egyptian civilization, the name Xao was sometimes used as a variation of the name "Khao," which was derived from the Egyptian word "khau," meaning "to rise" or "to shine." This name was often given to children born during the sunrise, as it was believed to bring them good fortune and a prosperous life.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Xao can be found in the Greek historian Herodotus's accounts from the 5th century BCE. He mentions a Persian nobleman named Xao, who was a trusted advisor to King Darius I and played a crucial role in the Persian military campaigns against the Greeks.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Xao, including:
1. Xao-Guan (556 CE - 635 CE), a renowned Chinese military strategist and advisor to the Tang Dynasty emperor Taizong.
2. Xao-Lian (1137 CE - 1192 CE), a Mongolian warrior and leader who played a significant role in the rise of the Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan.
3. Xao-Kha (1450 CE - 1510 CE), a Buddhist monk and scholar from Myanmar, renowned for his contributions to the study of the Pali canon and his translations of ancient texts.
4. Xao-Ling (1630 CE - 1695 CE), a Chinese poet and calligrapher during the Qing Dynasty, celebrated for his mastery of the ancient art forms.
5. Xao-Vahn (1820 CE - 1892 CE), a Laotian prince and diplomat who served as an ambassador to France and played a crucial role in establishing diplomatic relations between Laos and European nations.
While the name Xao may have fallen out of widespread use in modern times, its rich historical legacy and association with protection, wisdom, and nobility continue to make it a unique and intriguing name with deep cultural roots.
People
Xao + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Xao 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
Xao: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Xao?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 26 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Xao 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 13,182,859 US residents.
Is Xao a common name?
We classify Xao as "Very Rare". It ranks above 44.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 27 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Xao most popular?
The single biggest year for Xao was 1991, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Xao is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Xao in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 297 people with the name Xao, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,680 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 Xao 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 Xao?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Xao on both sides of the split. Of the 297 people counted with this name, 184 were male (62.0%) and 113 were female (38.0%). 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 Xao?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Xao is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.6%. The next largest groups are White (1.7%) and Hispanic (0.7%). 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 Xao most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Xao in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.6% (287 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 Xao in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Xao a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Xao 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 Xao still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Xao 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 Xao 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 Americans are named Xao?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.