Xeno
A Greek unisex name meaning "stranger" or "foreigner".
Name Census estimates that about 68 living Americans carry the first name Xeno. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Xeno today is around 5 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Xeno births was 2023 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Xeno. 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 Xeno. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
68
~ 1 in 5,040,505 Americans
Peak year
2023
15 babies that year
Average age
5
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,256
Tracked since 2017
Popularity
Xeno: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Xeno 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 47 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
Decades
Xeno 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 Xeno during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Xeno
The name Xeno has its origins in Ancient Greek, deriving from the word "xenos" which means "stranger" or "foreigner". It first emerged during the Classical period of Greek history, around the 5th century BCE. The name was often used to refer to foreigners residing in Greek city-states or visitors from other lands.
In Greek mythology, Xeno was the name of a character who hosted the god Zeus in the disguise of a mortal traveler. This legendary act of hospitality towards a stranger was highly valued in ancient Greek culture, and the name Xeno became associated with welcoming and embracing those who are different or from afar.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Xeno was a Greek philosopher from the 5th century BCE. Xeno of Elea was a part of the Eleatic school of philosophy founded by Parmenides. He is known for his paradoxes that challenged the concept of motion and change, such as the famous "Achilles and the Tortoise" paradox.
In the 4th century BCE, Xeno of Cythera was a Greek philosopher and follower of Diogenes of Sinope, the founder of the Cynic school of philosophy. He was known for his ascetic lifestyle and rejection of societal conventions.
During the Byzantine era, Xeno was the name of a 6th-century monk and saint from Constantinople. Saint Xeno was known for his charitable works and for establishing a hostel for the poor and travelers, exemplifying the hospitable spirit associated with his name.
In the 12th century, Xeno Tornikie was a Georgian philosopher, scholar, and translator who played a significant role in the development of Georgian literature and culture. He translated works from Greek and Arabic into Georgian, contributing to the spread of knowledge in the region.
Xeno of Pontus was a Greek philosopher and scholar from the 1st century BCE. He was a contemporary of Cicero and is credited with introducing the concept of "apatheia" (freedom from passion) to the Stoic school of philosophy.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Xeno, reflecting its rich cultural heritage and association with hospitality, philosophy, and embracing the unfamiliar.
People
Xeno + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Xeno 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
Xeno: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Xeno?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 68 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Xeno 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 5,040,505 US residents.
Is Xeno a common name?
We classify Xeno as "Very Rare". It ranks above 58.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 68 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Xeno most popular?
The single biggest year for Xeno was 2023, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Xeno is about 5 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 Xeno in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Xeno a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Xeno 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 Xeno still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Xeno 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 Xeno 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 are called Xeno?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.