The letter X barely gets used in English, and it is not universal across languages either, which is exactly why a girl name that starts with X stands out on a class list. Here are 100 of them, drawn from Somali, Nahuatl, Chinese, Galician, Greek, Basque and Arabic naming traditions, each with its meaning, origin, pronunciation and current standing in U.S. birth records.
Those records show how thin the ground is. The U.S. Social Security Administration lists only 68 of these 100 names at all, because a name needs at least five American babies in a single year before it is published (1). By that data Ximena leads the group at #183 in 2025, Xyla has climbed about 585 percent when the last ten years of births are set against the ten before them, and Xochiquetzal is down to roughly one girl in 250,000 births.
Some of these names are ancient, some were invented in the last decade, and a few change meaning entirely depending on which character or language you read them through. Start anywhere.
Popularity at a Glance
The most popular names on this list in the United States, 1965 to 2025: Ximena, Xiomara, Xyla, Xochitl and Xitlali.
100 Cool Female Names That Start with X
Experiment to your heart’s content with these 100 girl names that start with X.
Xaawo
Xaawo is the Somali form of Eve, and it carries the same idea of life that kept the original in use for millennia. The Hebrew roots behind it, chawah (to breathe) and cha’yah (to live), give it a gentle, elemental meaning. Somali spelling turns an H sound into an X, which is why the written name looks far more dramatic than it sounds. Hawa is the plainer, Arabic-influenced variant, closer to how the name reads across the wider Horn of Africa. Say it once, HA-woh, and all that softness comes straight back.
- Origin: Somali, Eastern African
- Meaning: Living one, alive
- Pronunciation: HA-woh
- Variations: Xawo, Hawa
- Popularity: Xaawo sits below the U.S. Social Security Administration’s publication line, which covers only names given to at least five babies in a single year, so American records show no ranking for it.
Xabiba
Xabiba is the Uzbek feminine form of the Arabic name Habib, so the meaning arrives before the explanation does: beloved. The Quranic history behind Habib makes this an Islamic pick by extension, with none of the length that usually comes attached. The Uzbek spelling is what catches people out, since the X here is doing the work of an H. Traditional meaning wrapped in an unfamiliar shape is a rare combination among girl names that start with X.
- Origin: Uzbek, Arabic
- Meaning: Loved, beloved
- Pronunciation: ha-BEE-bah
- Variations: Xabiiba, Xäbibä, Habiba, Habeeba
- Popularity: No U.S. ranking exists for Xabiba; federal birth data has never recorded five American girls given the name in one year.
Xael
Nobody agrees on where Xael came from, with Spanish the usual answer, Anglo-Saxon roots floated now and then, and plenty of sources simply calling it a modern invention. What survives every theory is the meaning attached to it, from the sea, and a shape that reads as freshly made in the best way. Two pronunciations circulate, zeye-AYL and ZA-ehl, so parents get to settle the question themselves.
- Origin: Spanish
- Meaning: From the sea
- Pronunciation: zeye-AYL, ZA-ehl
- Popularity: U.S. birth records put Xael at #4,697 in 2025, its strongest showing since it first appeared in the data in 2010.
Xaila
Xaila is an invented respelling of Zayla, which traces back through Arabic to Layla or Leila. Sources argue over whether the root means night or ecstasy, and both readings suit a name this soft. The X is doing purely visual work, because the sound stays ZAY-la either way. It’s the kind of respelling that works because it doesn’t ask English speakers to relearn anything.
- Origin: American English
- Meaning: Night, dark beauty, dark-haired
- Pronunciation: ZAY-la, ZAY-luh
- Variations: Xayla, Zayla
- Popularity: Xaila peaked at #3,433 in 2021 and has eased back to #6,532 in 2025 in SSA birth records, with U.S. use dating to 2017.
Xaiya
Xaiya means beloved, which makes its obscurity a little unfair, especially since it is filed as Albanian though it has never taken hold in Albania itself. The double vowel gives it a lift that plainer Zaya spellings do not have. Trinidadian singer Destra Garcia named her daughter Xaiya Morris, which is about as high-profile as this one currently gets.
- Origin: Albanian
- Meaning: Loved, beloved
- Pronunciation: ZEYE-ya
- Namesakes: Xaiya Morris, the daughter of Trinidadian singer Destra Garcia.
- Popularity: Xaiya last appeared in U.S. birth data in 2024 at #9,527, a whisker off its 2021 best of #9,518, and did not chart in 2025.
Xaliima
Xaliima is the Somali form of Halimah, from the Arabic Halim, and it means mild or gentle. The root carries real religious weight, since al-Halim is one of the names of Allah in the Quran. As with other Somali girl names beginning with X, the letter stands in for an H, so this is ha-LEE-ma. Somali political activist Xaliima Axmed writes her name Halima Ahmed in English, a useful preview of the spelling conversations ahead.
- Origin: Somali, Eastern African
- Meaning: Mild, gentle
- Pronunciation: ha-LEE-ma
- Variations: Halimah
- Namesakes: Xaliima Axmed, a Somali political activist.
- Popularity: Xaliima surfaced in SSA records for the first time in 2024 at #17,576 and did not return in 2025, which is what a name at the very edge of the data looks like.
Xalvadora
Xalvadora is a newer twist on the Spanish Salvadora, feminine of Salvador, so the meaning is savior. No well-known bearer of this exact spelling has surfaced, though the original belongs to the Argentine poet and feminist Salvadora Medina Onrubia. It is long and formal in the best Spanish tradition, and it holds together when spoken slowly. Both ZAL-vuh-daw-ruh and KAL-vuh-daw-ruh keep the rhythm intact, so regional accent decides which consonant leads. For a family that wants a note of thanksgiving on the birth certificate, this delivers it in four syllables.
- Origin: Spanish
- Meaning: Savior
- Pronunciation: ZAL-vuh-daw-ruh, KAL-vuh-daw-ruh
- Variations: Salvadora
- Popularity: The SSA has no published ranking for Xalvadora in any year on record.
Xalwo
Xalwo means sweet, and it is also the name of a Somali dessert, which is a lovely thing to share a name with. Every parent believes their baby is the sweetest; this is that thought in a form you can write down. Somalia uses it, the West has barely noticed it, and both facts are part of the appeal.
- Origin: Somali
- Meaning: Sweet
- Pronunciation: kHAAL-woh, HAAL-woh
- Variations: Halwo, Halwa
- Popularity: American birth records list no ranking for Xalwo, which stays under the five-births threshold the SSA publishes.
Xamara
Xamara is the Spanish and Portuguese respelling of Samara, and the two share a deep well of meaning. Hebrew gives Samara the sense of protected by God, while Arabic supplies the more poetic companion in night conversation, from which the figurative good friend comes. Four pronunciations circulate, from ksa-MA-ra to zuh-MAH-ruh, so the name bends to whichever language is spoken at home. Given how much babbling happens at three in the morning, the night conversation reading may be the truest one.
- Origin: Spanish, Arabic, Hebrew
- Meaning: Friend/companion in night conversation, talk late into the evening
- Pronunciation: ksa-MA-ra, SA-ma-ra, sa-MA-ra, zuh-MAH-ruh
- Variations: Samara
- Popularity: SSA data gives Xamara its best U.S. placement so far in 2025 at #7,113, having first charted back in 2008.
Xamira
Xamira collects meanings from several languages at once: Arabic reads Zamira as slender and Zamir as conscience, Hebrew hears Zamir as nightingale, and Albanian takes it as melodious or good of voice. Read instead as a form of Samira, it returns to that night conversation companion sense. Not one of those readings is unflattering, which is unusual for a name with this many parents.
- Origin: Albanian, Spanish, English, Arabic
- Meaning: Melodious voice, night conversation companion, slender
- Pronunciation: ksa-MEE-ra, zah-MEE-ruh, ZUH-mee-ruh
- Variations: Zamira, Samira
- Popularity: Xamira reached #1,182 in U.S. births in 2025, its highest rank since first charting in 2016.
Xamora
Xamora begins life as a Spanish surname, a variant of Zamora, which points at the city of Zamora in Spain. Toponymic names like this describe the land first and the family second, and the reading here is wild olives, with praised offered as an alternative. It has the rhythm of a first name even though it did not start as one. Used up front, it feels planted somewhere specific rather than invented.
- Origin: Spanish
- Meaning: Wild olives
- Pronunciation: ksa-MAW-ra, SA-MAW-ra
- Variations: Zamora, Samora
- Popularity: U.S. records show Xamora at #6,098 in 2025, its best year since it first charted in 2018.
Xana
Xana works as a short form of Alexandra, from the Greek Alexandros, but the better story sits in Asturian folklore. There a xana is a water nymph, and the word is usually traced to the Latin name Diana. Spanish keeps the fairy and nymph readings too, which gives two syllables an unusually mythic backdrop. Canadian musician Xana Morris and New Zealand actor Xana Tang show how easily it crosses borders. Its slow climb to a best-ever U.S. rank in 2025 suggests the folklore is finally catching on stateside.
- Origin: Portuguese, Asturian
- Meaning: Nymph, fairy, divine, defender of men
- Pronunciation: HA-NA, SHYA-nah, SHA-NA
- Namesakes: Xana Morris, a Canadian pop musician. Xana Martínez, the daughter of Spanish football manager and former player Luis Enrique Garcia. Xana Tang, a New Zealand-born Chinese-Vietnamese actor.
- Popularity: Xana posted its best U.S. rank yet in 2025 at #6,099, more than three decades after first appearing in SSA data in 1993.
Xanadu
Xanadu is the Anglicized form of the Chinese Shangdu, built from shang (above or upper) and du (city), so the literal reading is upper capital. Shangdu was the summer capital of the Mongol Empire’s fifth Khan, and a famous poem turned the place into shorthand for somewhere idyllic. That gives the name a double life, half historical and half dreamlike. Shortened to Xana (ZAN-uh), it stops sounding like a destination and starts sounding like a person.
- Origin: English, Chinese
- Meaning: Upper capital, idyllic place
- Pronunciation: ZAN-uh-doo, ZAN-a-doo
- Variations: Shangdu
- Popularity: Xanadu is a short 1990s chapter in the U.S. data: it charted from 1991, peaked that year at #15,415, and was last recorded in 1993 at #15,739.
Xandra
Xandra is the Dutch clipping of Alexandra, and it keeps the defender of men meaning without the four syllables, most at home in the Netherlands where speed skater Xandra Velzeboer is the bearer most people meet first. Disney handed the name to the goddess of adventure in Legend of the Three Caballeros, which has done it no harm at all. Next to Sandra it looks sharper, and next to Alexandra it looks quicker.
- Origin: Dutch, Greek
- Meaning: Defender of men, defending men
- Pronunciation: SAHN-dra, kSAHN-drah, ZAHN-dra
- Variations: Sandra
- Namesakes: Xandra Velzeboer, a Dutch short-track speed skater.
- Popularity: Xandra has a long American history, first charting in 1948, peaking at #4,277 in 2004 and last appearing in SSA data in 2024 at #17,577.
Xanh
Xanh is a color name from Vietnamese, covering the ground English splits between blue and green. It is the equivalent of an English speaker naming a child Blue, and it could hardly be simpler to say: SAN. One Vietnamese YouTuber goes by the handle Anh Tóc Xanh, the blue-haired man, which shows how ordinary the word is in daily speech. Short, cool in both senses, and unisex.
- Origin: Vietnamese
- Meaning: Cyan, blue, green
- Pronunciation: SAN
- Popularity: No U.S. ranking exists for Xanh, which stays below the five-births line the SSA publishes.
Xanım
Xanım is the Azerbaijani form of the Turkish title hanım, meaning lady or madam, the female counterpart of khan. Turning a courtesy title into a given name is an old habit across the Turkic world, and this is one of its most elegant results. Azerbaijani journalist Xanım İsmayılqızı and actress Xanım Qafarova both carry it in public life. Instagram star Xanim Aliyeva keeps a simplified version of the spelling in wide circulation online. The spelling looks severe, but HAN-ihm lands softly.
- Origin: Azerbaijani
- Meaning: Lady, madam
- Pronunciation: HAN-ihm, kHAN-ihm
- Variations: Hanım
- Namesakes: Xanım İsmayılqızı, an Azerbaijani journalist. Xanım Qafarova, an Azerbaijani theater and film actress, singer, and artist. Xanim Aliyeva, an Azerbaijani Instagram star.
- Popularity: The SSA has no record of Xanım among U.S. births, so no American ranking exists for it.
Xanthe
Xanthe comes straight from the Greek xanthos, meaning yellow, blond or fair-haired, and it has spawned a small family of spellings: Xanthi, Xanthia, Xanthea. It is one of the more grown-up sounding options here, the kind of name that reads well on a nameplate decades later. English stage actress Xanthe Elbrick, American voice actress Xanthe Huynh and Scottish forensic anthropologist Xanthé Mallett have all made it look capable. ZAN-thee is the usual English reading, with kSAN-teh closer to the Greek.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Yellow, blond, golden
- Pronunciation: ZAN-thee, kSAN-teh
- Variations: Xanthi, Xanthia, Xanthea
- Namesakes: Xanthe Elbrick, an English stage actress. Xanthe Huynh, an American voice actress. Xanthé Mallett, a Scottish forensic anthropologist, criminologist, and TV presenter.
- Popularity: Xanthe has charted in U.S. births since 1964, peaked at #5,106 in 1972 and sat at #7,468 in 2025.
Xanthippi
Xanthippi is the modern Greek form of Xanthippe, the wife of Socrates whose reputation for sharp words outlived her, built from the ancient parts xanthos, yellow, and hippos, horse. Greece prefers Xanthippi to the classical spelling, and it is the friendlier of the two on the page, as worn today by Xanthippi Stamoulaki, wife of footballer Sokratis Papastathopoulos. Four syllables sounds like a lot until you hear ksan-THEE-pee run together.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Yellow horse
- Pronunciation: ksan-THEE-pee, ksan-TEE-peh, zan-THIH-pee, zan-TIP-ee
- Variations: Xanthippe
- Namesakes: Xanthippi Stamoulaki, the wife of Greek football player Sokratis Papastathopoulos.
- Popularity: American birth data carries no entry for Xanthippi in any year.
Xantina
Xantina is a feminine build on the Basque Xanti, which goes back to Santiago and its meaning of devotee of St. James. That gives a frilly-sounding name a genuinely old religious spine. Tina is waiting inside it as a ready nickname for your classy girl.
- Origin: Spanish, Portuguese
- Meaning: Little saint, little devotee
- Pronunciation: SHAN-tee-na, kSHAN-tee-na
- Popularity: Xantina has never reached the five-births line the SSA needs before it publishes a ranking.
Xara
Xara is the X-first spelling of Zara, which traces to the Arabic Zirwa and its sense of pinnacle or exalted. Persian offers a second reading, where Zara means gold, and some families treat it instead as a respelling of Sara, princess. It should not be confused with Zahra, which is a different word entirely. American cricketer Xara Jetly, who plays out of New Zealand, is the bearer most often cited. U.S. use has only grown since it first charted in 2004, reaching its strongest rank yet in 2025.
- Origin: American English, Arabic
- Meaning: Exalted, high status
- Pronunciation: ZAH-ruh, SA-ra
- Variations: Zara
- Namesakes: Xara Jetly, an American cricket player based in New Zealand.
- Popularity: Xara reached its best U.S. rank in 2025 at #3,773, having first charted in 2004.
Xareni
Xareni comes from the Otomi people of Mexico, where the name, also spelled Shareni, belongs to a goddess of love. Its literal meaning is not settled, though princess of the forest is the reading usually attached. Love and woodland make a generous pair of associations to hand a newborn. A quarter-century of quiet American use without ever becoming common is the sweet spot many parents are hunting for.
- Origin: Mexican
- Meaning: Princess of the forest
- Pronunciation: sha-REH-nee, sha-RAY-nee
- Variations: Shareni
- Popularity: Xareni is one of the steadier names here, ranked #2,581 in 2025 after a 2022 high of #2,274 and a first SSA appearance in 2000.
Xaria
Xaria is an English respelling of the Arabic Zaria, which means scattering wind. Anyone who has spent a week with a newborn will recognize the imagery. American artist and actress Xaria Dotson is its best-known bearer so far.
- Origin: American English, Arabic
- Meaning: Scattering wind
- Pronunciation: SHA-ree-a, ZAH-ree-uh, ZAH-rih-yuh
- Variations: Zaria, Zariya
- Namesakes: Xaria Dotson, an American artist and actress.
- Popularity: U.S. records place Xaria at #3,455 in 2025, down from a 2023 peak of #2,889.
Xarlie
Xarlie is Charlie with the front swapped out, so the meaning stays free man and the sound stays ZAAR-lee. It is the rare X name that is instantly familiar out loud and completely unfamiliar on paper, since nothing in U.S. records even ranks it yet. Expect to spell it at every introduction, which is the trade for a name nobody else in the class will have.
- Origin: English, Spanish
- Meaning: Free man
- Pronunciation: ZAAR-lee
- Variations: Charlie
- Popularity: No American ranking exists for Xarlie, which stays under the SSA’s publication threshold.
Xatia
Xatia is the X spelling of the Georgian Khatia, and the swap is not arbitrary: the Cyrillic letter for that kh sound looks exactly like a Latin X. Written this way, the name arguably shows its true face. The meaning points to an icon, the painted religious kind, which suits something this ornate. Georgian concert pianist Xatia Buniatishvili has done more than anyone to put the spelling in front of English speakers.
- Origin: Georgian
- Meaning: Icon (religious painting) painted
- Pronunciation: KHA-TEE-YA, KAT-ya
- Variations: Khatia
- Namesakes: Xatia (or Khatia) Buniatishvili, a Georgian concert pianist. Xatia (or Khatia) Dekanoidze, a Georgian politician.
- Popularity: The SSA has never published a ranking for Xatia.
Xavia
Xavia is the feminine of Xavier, which comes from the Basque place name behind the meaning the new house, though a second line of sources reads it through Arabic as bright, shining or radiant, the meaning most parents quote. It sits close enough to familiar English rhythms to feel wearable rather than experimental. ZAY-vee-uh is the only pronunciation anyone will need to be taught.
- Origin: Basque, English, Arabic
- Meaning: The new house, shining, bright
- Pronunciation: ZAY-vee-uh
- Variations: Zavia
- Popularity: Xavia charted as far back as 1982, peaked at #2,701 in 2023 and stood at #4,978 in 2025 in SSA data.
Xaviera
Xaviera is the fuller feminine form of Xavier, from the Basque for the new house, with the Arabic reading of brilliant often added. It is the least experimental name in this stretch of the list, because Xavier already did the work of making the sound ordinary. Contemporary artist Xaviera Simmons and singer Xaviera Gold both carry it. For parents who want an X without an invention, this is the safe harbor.
- Origin: Basque, Spanish, English
- Meaning: The new house
- Pronunciation: SA-vee-eh-ra, KSA-vee-eh-ra, ZA-vee-eh-rah
- Namesakes: Xaviera Gold, an African-American singer and former DJ and mixer. Xaviera Simmons, an African American contemporary artist. Xaviera Plas, a German columnist and writer.
- Popularity: Xaviera entered SSA data in 1973 at its all-time best of #2,910, thinned out to a low in 2012, and has since recovered to roughly 2.3 times that trough, ranking #8,830 in 2025.
Xavière
If Xavier already sounded formal, the French feminine adds another coat of polish. The root is the Basque place name Etxeberria, the new house, shared by the whole family of spellings. Spoken quickly, GZAV-yeh is hard to tell from the masculine, though a French ear catches it. Journalist and literary academic Xavière Gauthier has worn it in print for decades, and Xavière Tiberi carried it through decades of French political life as well. It has never charted in U.S. birth records, which only publish names given to five or more babies in a year.
- Origin: French
- Meaning: The new house
- Pronunciation: GZAV-yeh, ZAV-yehr
- Variations: Xavérie, Xavéria
- Namesakes: Xavière Tiberi, the wife of the French politician and former mayor of Paris, Jean Tiberi. Xavière Gauthier, a journalist, editor, and feminist literary academic.
- Popularity: Xavière does not appear in U.S. birth records, which publish only names reaching five births in a year.
Xaya
Xaya respells the Mongolian Zaya and keeps that name’s meaning of fate or destiny. Two consonants and a lot of open vowel make it one of the airier options here. It has barely been used, which either bothers you or is precisely the point. If you like the idea that a name arrives when it is meant to, this one has the theme built in.
- Origin: English, Mongolian
- Meaning: Fate, destiny
- Pronunciation: ZAY-yah, ZEYE-yah, ZEYE-ya
- Variations: Zaya
- Popularity: Xaya turned up in SSA data in 2020 and reached #11,877 in 2025, the best year it has had.
Xaylee
Xaylee is a respelling of Zaylee, itself assembled from parts: zay or zai, read from ancient Farsi as life or something sweet like honey, plus lee from the Anglo-Saxon leigh, a meadow or clearing, together reading as honey meadow. A second reading gives sea strength, on the argument that zai connects to the Arabic word for sea. The construction is thoroughly modern and unbothered about it, which is half the appeal.
- Origin: American English
- Meaning: Honey meadow, sea strength
- Pronunciation: ZAY-lee
- Variations: Zaylee
- Popularity: Xaylee peaked at #8,953 in 2021 and came in at #11,878 in 2025, having first charted in 2013.
Xaysavanh
Xaysavanh looks intimidating and is not: three syllables, seye-sa-WAN, every one of them soft. The Lao parts are xay, victory, and savanh, heaven or paradise, so the whole reads as victory heaven. It pairs beautifully with a short first name, which makes it a strong middle-name candidate. If this register appeals, our Thai girl names sit nearby.
- Origin: Lao
- Meaning: Victory heaven, victory paradise
- Pronunciation: seye-sa-WAN
- Variations: Saysavanh
- Popularity: No U.S. ranking has ever been published for Xaysavanh.
Xela
Xela is the short form of Ánxela, the Galician version of Angela, so it inherits the whole angelic line back to the Latin Angelus. Messenger is the meaning underneath, taken from the spirit creature of the Bible rather than from anything sentimental. Galician spelling is what makes it look modern; the name itself is vintage. It has held a steady spot in U.S. records since 1995, easing slightly from a 2022 high. Newborns already look the part, so this only finishes the picture.
- Origin: Galician
- Meaning: Angel, messenger
- Pronunciation: SHEHY-yah, SHEH-la, kSEH-la
- Variations: Xella
- Popularity: Xela sat at #4,979 in U.S. births in 2025, off its 2022 peak of #3,699, first charted in 1995.
Xen
Xen is Zen with a sharper opening letter, and it carries the same idea: the Japanese term for a state of quiet, absorbed attention, which goes back to the Sanskrit dhyana. Three letters, one syllable, no ambiguity about how to say it. Actress Tisha Campbell and actor Duane Martin gave the name to their son, so it reads unisex in practice. On a list full of flourish, it is the calmest thing here.
- Origin: English, Japanese
- Meaning: Silent meditative state, virtuous, goodness
- Pronunciation: ZEHN, DZEHN
- Variations: Zen
- Namesakes: Xen Martin, the son of American actress Tisha Campbell and actor Duane Martin.
- Popularity: Xen first charted in 2001, hit #3,987 in 2022 and stood at #6,431 in 2025 in SSA records.
Xena
Xena will always be Xena: Warrior Princess first, and there are worse things for a daughter to share a name with than a character built on competence. Underneath the television sits the Greek Xenia, which means guest and hospitality as much as stranger, read in context as the person you welcome rather than the person you fear. Dutch philosopher Xena Maria Evers and Greek actress Xena Avramidis show it works off screen too.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Stranger, guest, foreigner, hospitable
- Pronunciation: KSEE-nah, ZEE-nuh
- Variations: Xenia
- Namesakes: Xena Maria Evers, a Dutch philosopher and documentary maker. Xena Avramidis, a Greek actress and model noted for a minor role in the Game of Thrones TV series.
- Popularity: Xena rode the 1990s television wave to #758 in 1996, its best U.S. rank, and has settled at #1,270 in 2025.
Xendaya
Xendaya is a respelling of a name that was itself newly made. Zendaya draws on the Shona Tendai, from tenda, to be thankful, so gratitude sits at the bottom of it. The X version keeps the rhythm and the meaning while stepping out of one very famous shadow. Four syllables leave plenty of nickname room.
- Origin: African American, Shona
- Meaning: To be thankful (to God), to give thanks (to God)
- Pronunciation: zehn-DAY-uh
- Variations: Zendaya
- Popularity: Xendaya charted from 2013, peaked at #12,094 in 2020 and last appeared in SSA data in 2024 at #13,407.
Xenia
Xenia is the parent name behind several spellings on this list, and it means hospitality, the welcome extended to a guest. The Greek xenos sits underneath, covering stranger, foreigner and guest in a single word. Slavic languages take it somewhere else entirely, as Ksenia, Kseniia and Kseniya. Italian Paralympic swimmer Xenia Palazzo and Greek actress Xenia Kalogeropoulou both wear it well. For a name with more than a century of American use behind it, it has stayed remarkably uncrowded.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Hospitality, welcomed guest
- Pronunciation: KSEN-ya, kSEN-ee-ya
- Variations: Ksenia, Kseniia, Ksenija, Kseniya
- Namesakes: Xenia Palazzo, an Italian Paralympic swimmer of Russian descent. Xenia Kalogeropoulou, a Greek actress for Greek and English-speaking films. Xenia Goodwin, an Australian actress and dancer.
- Popularity: Xenia has the longest U.S. history on this list, charting since 1894; it peaked at #1,932 in 1988 and ranked #2,931 in 2025.
Xenobia
Xenobia is the X spelling of Zenobia, and the history attached is worth the extra letter: Zenobia ruled the third-century Palmyrene Empire and made her court a center of learning, and the Greek reading is life of Zeus. Xenobia Clayton carried this exact spelling as the twin sister of American civic leader Xernona Clayton. Regal without being fussy, it is one of the few names here that arrives with a job description.
- Origin: English, Greek
- Meaning: Life of Zeus
- Pronunciation: zeh-NOH-bee-ah
- Variations: Zenobia
- Namesakes: Xenobia Clayton, the twin sister of American civic leader Xernona Clayton.
- Popularity: Xenobia appeared in SSA data once, in 2023, at #12,135.
Xenopatra
Move over, Cleopatra. Xenopatra puts together the Greek xenos, foreign or guest, with patra, fatherland, or patros, of the father. In a household with a confirmed daddy’s girl, the meaning does a lot of work. It is long, but the nicknames arrive ready made: Xen, Xena, even Patty.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Foreign father, guest of the father
- Pronunciation: ZEE-noh-PAH-truh
- Popularity: No U.S. ranking exists for Xenopatra.
Xénova
Xénova is the Galician and Asturian name for the Italian port that English speakers call Genoa, with the likeliest root in the Latin genu, knee, and janua, door, offered as an alternative, a harbor city named for a doorway making a certain sense. As a given name it is rare enough that it will always come with a story attached. That story happens to be about maps and Latin, which is more than most names can offer.
- Origin: Asturian, Galician, Latin
- Meaning: Knee
- Pronunciation: zeh-NOH-vah
- Variations: Genova
- Popularity: The SSA publishes no ranking for Xénova.
Xeraphina
Xeraphina respells Seraphina, which descends from the Latin Seraphinus and, before that, the biblical seraphim, the fiery ones. Angel and firecracker are both covered, handy for a baby who has not yet revealed which she is. It is the most ornamental of the fiery options here. SEH-ruh-FEE-nuh and ZEH-rah-FEE-nah both work, depending how much of the X you want to hear.
- Origin: English, Hebrew
- Meaning: Fiery one, seraphim
- Pronunciation: SEH-ruh-FEE-nuh, ZEH-rah-FEE-nah
- Variations: Seraphina, Serafina
- Popularity: Xeraphina’s only appearance in U.S. records came in 2023, at #17,493.
Xeres
Xeres comes down from the Persian Xerxes, which means ruler over heroes, a heavy inheritance for a very small person. It is treated as an Islamic choice but has spread well past that community. On the page it sits one letter away from Ceres, the Roman goddess of the harvest, giving it an accidental second life.
- Origin: Persian
- Meaning: Nice, caring, ruler over heroes
- Pronunciation: ZEH-reez, khs-EH-rez
- Popularity: American birth data has never published a ranking for Xeres.
Xeyal
Xeyal means daydream and imagination, the thing a mind does when it wanders off. Kurdish and Turkic usage runs alongside the Persian Khayal, and the whole family shares one Quranic root, so the names are close to interchangeable. Of the set, the X spelling is the one that looks like its meaning. It has never appeared in U.S. birth records, which keeps it firmly in name-nerd territory rather than the mainstream. sehy-AAL is the reading to teach.
- Origin: Kurdish
- Meaning: Illusion, daydream, thought, imagination
- Pronunciation: sehy-AAL, thay-AL
- Variations: Khayal
- Popularity: Xeyal does not appear in U.S. birth records at all.
Xhesika
Xhesika looks far more complicated than it sounds. It is the Albanian form of Jessica, where the xh does the job of an English j, so you land on jeh-SEE-kah. Jessica has been fading for years, which makes this a chance to take a name everyone knows and hand it back unrecognizable. Albanian model Xhesika Berberi and musician Xhesika Ndoj both use it.
- Origin: Albanian
- Meaning: To behold
- Pronunciation: jeh-SEE-kah
- Namesakes: Xhesika Berberi, an Albanian model and beauty pageant titleholder. Xhesika Ndoj, an Albanian musical artist.
- Popularity: No U.S. ranking has been published for Xhesika.
Xhuri
Xhuri is a respelling of the Swahili Zuri, which simply means beautiful. It also turns up in Albania as a rare X surname, so the spelling is not purely invented. For families with African heritage it offers a direct line back without a pronunciation lesson, since ZOO-ree is what everyone says anyway.
- Origin: East African, Swahili
- Meaning: Beautiful
- Pronunciation: ZOO-ree
- Variations: Zhuri, Zuri
- Popularity: Xhuri charted in 2021 at #15,146, its best mark, and last appeared in SSA data in 2023 at #17,494.
Xi
Xi is the shortest name on this list: two letters, one syllable, said SHEE, though in China it is far better known as one of the most common surnames than as a given name. The older sense of the character is cloth or mat, while modern readings run to strive, hope, admire and careful. That is a wide menu for a name you can write in a second.
- Origin: Chinese
- Meaning: Hope, admire, happiness
- Pronunciation: SHEE, SEE
- Namesakes: Xi Luo, a Chinese competitive synchronized swimmer. Xi Luo, a Chinese Olympic and World Championship medallist in synchronized swimming.
- Popularity: Xi ranked #9,668 in 2025 in SSA data, off a 2019 best of #8,187, and has only been in U.S. records since 2017.
Xia
Xia carries two lovely readings from Chinese: xia, summer or grand, and xia in a different tone, the rosy clouds at sunrise. Either way it is a weather name, warm at both ends of the day. Sources list SEE-a, SHEE-a and SHYAH, and families tend to pick by ear. It is one of the easier picks in our exotic names for girls collection for an English speaker to carry.
- Origin: Chinese
- Meaning: Summer, rosy clouds, glow of sunrise
- Pronunciation: SEE-a, SHEE-a, SHYAH
- Namesakes: Xia Zhào, ring name Xia Li, a Chinese professional wrestler.
- Popularity: Xia has been in U.S. records since 1981, peaked at #3,400 in 1989 and ranked #5,229 in 2025.
Xiadani
Xiadani comes out of Zapotec culture, built on xia, flower, with dani following as a suffix. The usual gloss is the flower that bloomed, which suits a spring arrival. It has an unforced sing-song rhythm, hee-ah-DAH-nee. U.S. use has held steady since 2000, hovering in the same rank range for two decades. Dani is sitting right there for the school years.
- Origin: Mexican, Zapotec
- Meaning: The flower that bloomed, blooming flower
- Pronunciation: hee-ah-DAH-nee
- Popularity: Xiadani placed #7,469 in 2025, just off its 2024 high of #5,950, with U.S. use going back to 2000.
Xiamara
Xiamara is Aramaic for joyful deer, an image that does most of the work before anything else is said about it. It reads as a nature name without announcing itself as one. British-Filipino TV host Xiamara Sophia Bernardo Vigor and soul singer Xiamara Jennings have both used it publicly. For a fawn-limbed newborn the fit is almost too neat.
- Origin: Aramaic
- Meaning: Joyful deer
- Pronunciation: zee-ah-MAH-ra
- Namesakes: Xiamara Sophia Bernardo Vigor, a British-Filipino child actress and TV host in the Philippines. Xiamara Jennings, a R&B and soul singer.
- Popularity: Xiamara ranked #4,980 in 2025 in SSA data, a little below the #4,185 it reached in 2023.
Xian
Xian packs an unusual amount of meaning into four letters, because the sound maps onto several Chinese characters: present or manifest, string or chord, before or first, plus further readings covering elegant, refined and worthy, while Galician adds another layer, where Xian is a short form of Xulián. Two cultures, one spelling, almost no overlap in meaning. American model and actress Xian Mikol keeps the English pronunciation in circulation.
- Origin: Chinese, Galician
- Meaning: Elegant, good, chord, downy-bearded
- Pronunciation: SHYEHN, SYEHN, shee-ANG
- Variations: Xián
- Namesakes: Xian Mikol, an American model and actress. Alexander Xian Lim, a Filipino-American actor, model, singer, and professional basketball player.
- Popularity: Xian has charted in U.S. births since 1997, peaked at #4,212 in 2023 and stood at #5,195 in 2025.
Xiana
Xiana is the Galician short form of Xuliána, the local Juliana, which puts Julius at the root. The literal meaning, downy-bearded, is one of onomastics’ odder gifts; read it as youthful and it makes far more sense. Spanish secretary of state Xiana Mendez has kept it visible in public life. Three decades of quiet American use have left it feeling completely unworn.
- Origin: Galician
- Meaning: Downy-bearded
- Pronunciation: shee-AH-nuh
- Namesakes: Xiana Mendez, a Spanish secretary of state.
- Popularity: Xiana peaked at #3,977 in 2000 and has held on since, ranking #5,092 in 2025 in SSA records.
Xianna
Xianna is the doubled-up American spelling of Xiana, and the extra letter opens a second reading. In Chinese the characters can give xian, virtuous or worthy, with na, elegant and graceful. So it works as a Galician diminutive or as a compliment paid twice over, depending which side of the family is asking. American use has held steady since 1990, with a slight easing between its 2024 and 2025 ranks. Anna is the obvious shortcut for anyone who needs one.
- Origin: Chinese, American English
- Meaning: Virtuous and graceful, virtuous and elegant, downy-bearded
- Pronunciation: SHYAH-na, shee-AH-nuh, ZEE-a-nuh
- Variations: Xian Na
- Popularity: Xianna reached #4,290 in 2024 and eased to #5,230 in 2025, with U.S. use dating to 1990.
Xiao
Xiao has a foot in two languages. In Chinese it collects sunrise and dawn readings, plus a character meaning reverent toward the elderly, which is a rarer thing to name a child for. In Galician it is a form of Xian, youthful. A playable Genshin Impact character has done more for its recognition among younger parents than any of that, and it remains genuinely unisex in China.
- Origin: Chinese, Galician
- Meaning: Sunrise, dawn, skyline, downy-bearded
- Pronunciation: shee-OW, see-OW, tCHYOW
- Namesakes: Xiao Wen Ju, a Chinese model. Xiao Wang, a professor at MIT.
- Popularity: Xiao charted in U.S. births from 1984, peaked at #9,530 in 1993 and was last recorded in 2006 at #15,079.
Xiaoli
Xiaoli is built from xiao, which can mean small, or dawn, or to know and understand, paired with li, which offers benefit, reason or beautiful, with small and beautiful the combination usually quoted and beautiful dawn the prettiest. Chinese given names work this way by design, so the characters a family chooses decide the meaning. Say it SHYOW-LEE and it moves fast.
- Origin: Chinese
- Meaning: Small and beautiful, small advantage, beautiful dawn
- Pronunciation: SHYOW-LEE, SYOW-LEE
- Variations: Xiao Li
- Namesakes: Xiaoli Ma, an electrical engineer of Chinese descent. Xiaoli Zhang, a mechanical engineer of Chinese descent.
- Popularity: The SSA has no published ranking for Xiaoli.
Xiaoyan
Xiaoyan reads most often as dawn swallow, though the characters also allow small bamboo, cliffs, and know or understand. A songbird at first light is a fair image for a baby who wakes the house. Chinese track athlete Xiaoyan Liao and judo coach Xiaoyan Zhuang carry it into sport. It is long on the page and quick in the mouth.
- Origin: Chinese
- Meaning: Dawn swallow, small swallow
- Pronunciation: SHEE-ow-yan, SYOW-yan
- Variations: Hsiao-yen, Xiao-yan
- Namesakes: Xiaoyan Liao, a Chinese track and field athlete. Xiaoyan Cheng, a former Chinese shot putter. Xiaoyan Zhuang, a Chinese female judo coach and former international judo champion.
- Popularity: No U.S. ranking exists for Xiaoyan.
Xiara
Xiara is a respelling of Siara, which sits at a crossroads between the Spanish Sierra, mountains, and the Irish Ciara, dark-haired. English speakers blurred the two long ago because the spellings kept sliding into each other. The result is a simple-looking name with a tangled family tree, and see-A-ruh is all anyone needs to know out loud.
- Origin: Spanish, English
- Meaning: Mountains, dark-haired
- Pronunciation: see-A-ruh
- Variations: Siara
- Popularity: Xiara peaked at #5,276 in 1996 and has drifted to #8,831 in 2025 in SSA data.
Xienna
Xienna is a color name in disguise. Sienna, the pigment, takes its name from Siena in Italy, where the clay runs yellow-brown, and the Italian phrase terra di Siena means earth of Siena. Swapping in the X changes nothing about the sound, which stays SEE-eh-nuh. It is a recent arrival in U.S. records, climbing since 2024 without yet settling into a stable rank. You get the warm earthy shade and a spelling nobody else picked.
- Origin: Italian, English
- Meaning: Orange-red, ochre
- Pronunciation: SEE-eh-nuh
- Variations: Sienna, Siena
- Popularity: Xienna hit #8,921 in 2024 and came in at #10,878 in 2025.
Xila
Xila has more possible origins than it has letters. It works as a transcription of the Indian Shila, as the Chinese Xila, which is the word for Greece, and as a modern spelling of the Hebrew Zillah, shade or shelter. Conduct and disposition come from the Sanskrit side of that pile. Pick the origin that belongs to your family and the name follows.
- Origin: Indian, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese
- Meaning: Conduct, disposition, Greece
- Pronunciation: ZIL-ah, SHEE-lah
- Variations: Shila, Sheela
- Popularity: Xila entered SSA records in 2020 and ranked #13,126 in 2025, near its 2023 best of #12,138.
Xilenia
Xilenia sounds smooth and expensive, and its origin is genuinely unsettled, with most sources treating it as a modern build on Selene and Selena, which would make the moon its meaning. sih-LEHN-ya keeps the l and the n sliding into each other. For a daughter who arrives after dark, the lunar reading is hard to resist.
- Origin: Spanish
- Meaning: Moon
- Pronunciation: sih-LEHN-ya
- Popularity: Xilenia spiked to #4,737 in 2023 and settled back to #9,433 in 2025, having first charted in 2021.
Xiloxoch
Xiloxoch is a Nahuatl flower name, specifically the calliandra, and it is far easier to say than it looks: SHEE-loh-shohch. Aztec names lose people at the spelling stage, which is a shame given how musical they are once broken into pieces. If the full version feels like a lot for daily use, it makes a striking middle name for girls.
- Origin: Mexican, Aztec
- Meaning: Calliandra (flower)
- Pronunciation: SHEE-loh-shohch
- Popularity: No American ranking exists for Xiloxoch.
Ximara
Ximara is most likely a variant of Xiomara, the Spanish form of Guiomar, and it keeps the fierce meaning: famous in battle. Nothing about the sound is aggressive, which is the pleasant contradiction here. Mara and Xima (SEE-ma) are both waiting as short forms.
- Origin: Spanish
- Meaning: Battle famous, famous in battle
- Pronunciation: see-MA-ra, ksee-MA-rah
- Variations: Xiomara
- Popularity: Ximara appeared in SSA data once, in 2018, at #18,007.
Ximena
Ximena is the feminine of Ximeno, a name usually traced to Simon and its Hebrew root meaning hearing or listening, with the Basque seme, son, offered as an alternative. Calling a daughter son takes some explaining; calling her the one who listens does not. Colombian actress Ximena Duque and Mexican singer-songwriter Ximena Sariñana have kept it visible across the Americas. It is the one name here most Americans have already met, and the only one they will not ask you to repeat.
- Origin: Spanish, Basque, Hebrew
- Meaning: Son, hearing, listening
- Pronunciation: khee-MEH-na, hee-MEH-nah
- Variations: Jimena
- Namesakes: Ximena Córdoba Londoño, a Colombian model and actress. Ximena Sariñana Rivera, a Mexican singer-songwriter and actress. Ximena Duque, a Colombian actress and model.
- Popularity: Ximena is the most widely used name on this list in the United States, ranked #183 in 2025 by the SSA after peaking at #118 in 2018.
Ximora
Ximora takes the Xiomara sound and files off a syllable. The line runs back through the Spanish Guiomar to the Germanic Wigmar, from wig, battle, and mari, famous. Almost nobody uses this spelling, so a daughter would be defining it rather than inheriting it.
- Origin: Spanish
- Meaning: Battle famous, famous in battle
- Pronunciation: SEE-maw-ra, kSEE-maw-ra, ZEE-maw-ruh
- Variations: Xiomara
- Popularity: Ximora reached #8,466 in 2023 and ranked #9,434 in 2025 in SSA records.
Xin
Xin is three letters with a deep bench of meanings, depending on the character: heart, mind and soul; dawn; fragrant; fresh or new; trust, any of which would be a fine thing to wish on a child. Former badminton world number one Xin Wang and Olympic silver medalist basketball coach Xin Li both carry the name into public life. SIN or SEEN, and unisex in both.
- Origin: Chinese
- Meaning: Fragrant, prosperous, new, happy
- Pronunciation: SIN, SEEN
- Namesakes: Xin Wang, a Chinese retired badminton player and former World No. 1 women’s singles player. Xin Li, a Chinese women’s basketball coach and former international player who won an Olympic silver medal.
- Popularity: Xin peaked at #6,238 in 2005 and last appeared in U.S. records in 2023 at #17,496.
Xina
Xina is usually filed as a spelling of Xena and, further back, a form of the Greek Xenia, so hospitality is the meaning it inherits. It is softer than Xena, closer to ZEE-nuh, and it sidesteps the television association entirely. Real-life bearers are hard to find; the best-known Xina, Miguel O’Hara’s friend Xina Kwan, lives in Marvel Comics. A daughter with this spelling would have very little competition.
- Origin: English, Greek
- Meaning: Hospitality, stranger, guest
- Pronunciation: ZEE-nuh, SHEE-nah
- Variations: Xenia, Xena
- Popularity: Xina first charted in 1966 at its best rank of #7,606 and last appeared in SSA data in 2024 at #17,584.
Xing changes meaning with the character behind it: flourish or prosper, planet, star, intelligent, or to carry out. Star is the reading most parents want, and it is the one that survives translation best. Chinese long-track speed skater Xing Aihua is the sporting bearer. It surfaced only once in U.S. records, back in 2000, and has not charted since. There is also the small pleasure that it sounds like a sound effect.
- Origin: Chinese
- Meaning: Star, clever, apricot, flourish
- Pronunciation: SYUUNG, SHYEENG
- Namesakes: Xing Aihua, a Chinese long-track speed-skater.
- Popularity: Xing shows up once in U.S. records, in 2000, at #13,111.
Xinrui
Xinrui combines xin, fragrant or to admire, with rui, an auspicious omen, or a second rui meaning delicate drooping leaves. Translated literally it lands somewhere strange in English. In Chinese it reads as tender, which is the effect worth keeping. Even at home it is uncommon, so its rarity here is not an American accident.
- Origin: Chinese
- Meaning: Fragrant drooping leaves, auspicious fragrance
- Pronunciation: SIN-ROO-EE, SIN-RAY
- Popularity: Xinrui charted once in U.S. births, in 2014, at #19,089, and has not returned since.
Xinyi
Xinyi doubles down on happiness: xin gives delighted, or heart and soul, and yi gives joy and harmony. Two syllables, two versions of the same wish. It is delicate on the ear, SIN-YEE, and gender-neutral in use.
- Origin: Chinese
- Meaning: Joyous heart, happy
- Pronunciation: SIN-YEE, SEEN-YEE
- Popularity: Xinyi peaked at #8,587 in 2018 and last appeared in U.S. data in 2020 at #11,035.
Xinyue
Xinyue pairs the busy xin, heart or dawn or fragrant, with yue, which English speakers know best for its lunar reading, giving new moon as the meaning usually quoted and treasure as the runner-up. Chinese volleyball player Xinyue Yuan is its most visible bearer. It has a musical shape that carries well outside China.
- Origin: Chinese
- Meaning: New moon
- Pronunciation: SIN-YOOEH, SEEN-YOOEH, SIN-YOO-eh
- Namesakes: Xinyue Yuan, a Chinese professional volleyball player.
- Popularity: Xinyue ranked #10,073 in 2025 in SSA data, close to its 2017 best of #9,899.
Xiomara
Honduran president Iris Xiomara Castro Sarmiento put it on front pages. The etymology runs either to the Spanish Guiomar or the Old Germanic Giselmar, from gisel, pledge, and mari, famous. Famous in battle is the reading everyone quotes, and seventy years of steady American use suggests parents agree with it.
- Origin: Spanish
- Meaning: Famous in battle, battle famous
- Pronunciation: SYOH-MA-ra, SEE-oh-MA-ra
- Variations: Ximara
- Namesakes: Xiomara Blandino, a Nicaraguan beauty pageant titleholder. Iris Xiomara Castro Sarmiento, also Castro de Zelaya, a Honduran politician, businesswoman, and the 56th president of Honduras.
- Popularity: Xiomara ranked #463 in U.S. births in 2025, just off its 2023 peak of #402, with an SSA run going back to 1954.
Xion
Xion covers two names at once: the Hebrew Zion, the fortress city tied to God’s protection in the Bible, and the Japanese Shion, the aster flower. Aster itself is Greek for star, so even the flower reading points upward. Families with a foot in two cultures get an unusual amount of mileage from one spelling. It has climbed steadily in U.S. records, edging past its 2024 rank in 2025. Pronunciation follows whichever tradition you are honoring, SHEE-on or ZEYE-on.
- Origin: Hebrew, Japanese
- Meaning: Highest point, aster
- Pronunciation: SHEE-on, TSEYE-on, ZEYE-on
- Variations: Zion, Shion
- Popularity: Xion ranked #1,791 in 2025, a shade off its 2024 peak of #1,734.
Xipil
Xipil is among the rarest entries here, and little about it is settled, including the meaning. Noble one and of fire are the readings usually given. Aztec heritage is the real reason to choose it, and it puts that heritage right at the front of a child’s introduction. The pronunciation, SHEE-PEEL, opens like the English word sheep, which softens all that fire considerably.
- Origin: Aztec
- Meaning: Noble one, of fire
- Pronunciation: SHEE-PEEL
- Popularity: No U.S. ranking exists for Xipil.
Xitlali
Xitlali means star, and it descends from Citlalicue, the Aztec creator goddess whose name reads as star garment, the figure who with her husband made the stars and the earth between them. Mexican singer Xitlali Sarmiento carries it now. The nickname Xitla trims it down for daily use without losing the star at its center.
- Origin: Mexican, Aztec
- Meaning: Star
- Pronunciation: SIT-lah-lee
- Variations: Xitlalli, Citlalli, Citlali
- Namesakes: Xitlali Sarmiento, a Mexican singer.
- Popularity: Xitlali sits at #1,234 in 2025, remarkably close to its 2004 peak of #1,227, so its American use has barely moved in two decades.
Xitlalic
Xitlalic is the longer cousin of Xitlali, closer to the original Citlalicue and its star garment meaning. Dropping only the final letters changes the ending completely, SIT-lah-lihk rather than the softer -lee. Mexico is where it still gets regular use. A name with this much history behind it deserves better than a quiet decade.
- Origin: Mexican, Aztec
- Meaning: Star
- Pronunciation: SIT-lah-lihk
- Variations: Xitlali, Citlali
- Popularity: Xitlalic has fallen furthest of the names on this list, down about 45 percent when the last ten years of U.S. births are set against the ten years before them; it peaked at #4,757 in 2002 and last charted in 2021 at #12,151.
Xiuhcoatl
Xiuhcoatl is Classical Nahuatl for turquoise serpent, with fire serpent as the symbolic reading, and it belonged to an Aztec fire deity tied to dry grass, the solar year and turquoise itself, so the name brings a whole calendar with it. It looks far harder than it is: SHEW-koh-atl, three beats. Parents who want Mesoamerican history in the family record could hardly do better.
- Origin: Mexican, Aztec
- Meaning: Turquoise serpent, fire serpent
- Pronunciation: SHEW-koh-atl
- Popularity: American birth records include no entry for Xiuhcoatl.
Xiuhcuetzin
Xiuhcuetzin belonged to a queen of Tenochtitlan, wife of the Aztec emperor Acamapichtli, which is genuinely royal company. The meanings gather around a skirt: grass, turquoise, fire, and best of all the skirt of a comet, the streak of light a meteor leaves behind. It is the most demanding spelling on this list and the most cinematic image. SHOO-koo-EHT-sin, once you get moving, is not the obstacle it appears to be.
- Origin: Mexican, Aztec
- Meaning: Grass skirt, turquoise skirt, fire skirt, skirt of a comet
- Pronunciation: SHOO-koo-EHT-sin, SHEW-koo-EHT-sin
- Namesakes: Xiuhcuetzin, a Tenochtitlan queen and wife of the Aztec emperor Acamapichtli.
- Popularity: Its royal pedigree hasn’t been enough to get Xiuhcuetzin past the SSA’s five-births threshold, so American records carry no ranking for it at all.
Xiya
Xiya lands on the same meaning from two directions. The Arabic Ziya, from diya, gives light, splendor and glow; the Chinese characters give splendid or bright paired with refined and graceful. Agreement like that across unrelated languages is rare and rather satisfying. It has held a steady spot in U.S. records since 2021, easing slightly toward 2025. Three pronunciations are in use, so the family gets to choose the one it likes.
- Origin: Chinese, Arabic, American English
- Meaning: Splendid, light, glow
- Pronunciation: SHEE-ya, DEE-ya, ZEE-yuh
- Variations: Ziya, Diya
- Popularity: Xiya reached #9,522 in 2021 and ranked #10,879 in 2025 in SSA records.
Xoana
Xoana is the Galician form of Joanna, the feminine of John, so the meaning traces back to the Hebrew for God has been gracious. There is a second, stranger possibility: the Greek xoanon, an early carved wooden image of a god. Spiritual either way, and pronounced HWAH-nuh, which nobody guesses from the spelling. Argentine handball player Xoana Iacoi is the bearer to point at.
- Origin: Galician
- Meaning: Jehovah has shown favor, Jehovah has been gracious
- Pronunciation: HWAH-nuh, SHWA-nuh
- Variations: Joanna, Jane
- Namesakes: Xoana Iacoi, an Argentine professional handball player.
- Popularity: Xoana is new to the U.S. data, first charting in 2024 at #11,076 and ranking #11,880 in 2025.
Xochi
Xochi is the short form of Xochitl, keeping the flower meaning while losing the tricky ending, and SHOH-CHEE is about as sweet as two syllables get. Flower names show up in every culture, and Mesoamerica is no exception. Programmer and company founder Xochi Birch has carried it through a very modern career.
- Origin: Mexican, Aztec
- Meaning: Flower
- Pronunciation: SHOH-CHEE
- Namesakes: Xochi Birch, an American computer programmer and co-founder of several companies.
- Popularity: Xochi reached its best U.S. rank in 2025 at #5,231, having first charted in 2008.
Xochiquetzal
Xochiquetzal belonged to the Aztec goddess of love, flowers and handicrafts, a figure shared with the Toltec tradition. The name joins xochitl, flower, to quetzalli, the quetzal feather that also meant precious thing. Precious feather flower is the full reading, and it is one of the most beautiful compounds Nahuatl has produced. It is a mouthful, no argument, but it moves with a grace shorter names cannot manage.
- Origin: Mexican, Aztec
- Meaning: Precious flower, precious quetzal feather, precious feather flower
- Pronunciation: shoh-chee-KEHT-sal
- Popularity: Xochiquetzal is the rarest currently charting name here, at #14,854 in 2025, which works out to roughly one girl in 250,000 U.S. births.
Xochitl
Xochitl is the source name for the flower words that run through Nahuatl, and several other girl names grow out of it: Xiloxoch, Eloxochitl, Miyaoaxochitl. It has been used in Mexico for centuries and has never felt archaic there. American actress Xochitl Gomez and novelist Xochitl Gonzalez have introduced it to a wider audience lately. Mexican scientist Xochitl Dominguez Benetton shows the name working just as well outside entertainment. The pronunciation, SHOH-CHEET, is the one thing to rehearse before the birth announcements go out.
- Origin: Mexican, Aztec
- Meaning: Flower
- Pronunciation: SHOH-CHEET, SHOH-CHEETL
- Namesakes: Xochitl Gomez, an American actress who debuted in the sitcom Raven’s Home. Xochitl Dominguez Benetton, a Mexican scientist. Xochitl Gonzalez, an American novelist, screenwriter, and producer.
- Popularity: Xochitl posted its best U.S. rank yet in 2025 at #1,101, seventy years after first appearing in SSA data in 1955.
Xoday
Xoday is the Tatar word for God, taken from the Persian Khuda. That is a great deal of weight for a small child, which probably explains why the name stays so uncommon. To an English eye it sits one letter away from today, either a charming coincidence or a nudge about procrastinating.
- Origin: Tatar
- Meaning: God
- Pronunciation: huh-DEYE, HOH-deye
- Variations: Khuda
- Popularity: Xoday has never crossed into U.S. birth records, so no American rank exists for it yet.
Xoe
Xoe is Zoe with the letter swapped, and the meaning is as direct as meanings get: life, from the Greek zoe. That word was the Hellenized Jewish rendering of Eve, so a long religious history hides behind three letters. It is easy to say and easy to spell once seen, which is not true of every name here. Different enough to stand apart from Zoe, close enough that nobody will stumble.
- Origin: English, Greek
- Meaning: Life
- Pronunciation: ZOH-ee, ZOH-wee, SWEH
- Variations: Xoey
- Namesakes: Xoe Arabella, an American social media personality.
- Popularity: Xoe peaked at #2,936 in 2009 and ranked #5,393 in 2025 in SSA data.
Xoese
Xoese means believe or hope, and it sounds as light as those words suggest. The two Es give it an open, airy look, though the pronunciation, KWEH-SEH, has nothing to do with what an English reader expects. Ghanaian naming traditions are rich in names that state a wish outright, and this is one of them.
- Origin: Ghanaian
- Meaning: Believe, hope
- Pronunciation: KWEH-SEH, KWAY-suh
- Popularity: The SSA has no record of Xoese in U.S. births.
Xola
Xola comes from the Xhosa language and means stay in peace, which is closer to a blessing than a label, and it doubles as a spelling of Zola, a name that appears to have been invented and may itself lean on the Xhosa root zola, calm. Latin roots have also been proposed, as they usually are. Whichever thread you follow, the instruction at the center of it is a good one.
- Origin: South African, American English
- Meaning: Stay in peace, calmness, mound of earth
- Pronunciation: ZOH-luh, ZOHW-luh, KOH-lah
- Variations: Zola
- Popularity: Xola spiked to #4,371 in 2022 and has fallen back sharply to #13,128 in 2025.
Xora
Xora is a respelling of Zora, which means dawn or aurora in Slavic languages and carries the Xhosa sense of anointed or God’s blessings. Two very different traditions arrive at one short, bright name. It is pretty on paper and simple out loud, ZOH-ra. One warning: Legend of Zelda players will hear fish people, and there is nothing to be done about that.
- Origin: Slavic, South African
- Meaning: Dawn, aurora, God’s blessings
- Pronunciation: ZOH-ra, ZAWR-uh
- Variations: Zora
- Popularity: Xora entered SSA records in 2019, reached #7,619 in 2023 and ranked #10,075 in 2025.
Xosha
Xosha is an African American respelling of Xhosa, the South African people and language. In the Khoisan languages the word carries the sense of angry or fierce, which parents tend to read as spirited. American actress Xosha Kai Roquemore is the bearer most people will have seen. It has never appeared in U.S. birth-rank data, keeping it rare even among rare names. Cultural connection and a bit of fire, in five letters.
- Origin: African American
- Meaning: Fierce
- Pronunciation: ZOH-shah
- Variations: Xhosa, Xosa
- Namesakes: Xosha Kai Roquemore, an American actress.
- Popularity: No U.S. ranking has been published for Xosha.
Xquenda
An X followed by a Q looks like a typing accident to English speakers, and yet Xquenda is straightforward to say: tsKWEN-da. It joins the Zapotec guenda, spirit or soul, to a possessive prefix, so the whole name means my soul. Few names say the quiet part that plainly.
- Origin: Mexican, Zapotec
- Meaning: My spirit, my soul
- Pronunciation: tsKWEN-da
- Popularity: American birth data carries no ranking for Xquenda.
Xsara
Xsara looks invented because it is, probably built on the Arabic Zahra, flower, or Zarah, high status, and possibly reaching for both at once. Citroen used the name from 1997, including on the Xsara Picasso, which is the association most Europeans bring to it. Whether that charms or bothers you is a personal matter.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Exalted, high status, flower
- Pronunciation: KZAH-ruh, EK-sar-uh
- Variations: Zsara
- Popularity: The SSA has no published ranking for Xsara.
Xuan
Xuan is a gender-neutral pick with a run of meanings behind it: beautiful jade, mysterious or profound, black, day lily, even a lofty pavilion. Chinese and Vietnamese speakers say it differently, SHWEHN and SOON, and both are correct in their own house. Chinese actress and singer Xuan Dong and gymnast Xuan Liu have carried it into public life. For parents who do not want anything too girly, it is a clean solution.
- Origin: Chinese, Vietnamese
- Meaning: Beautiful jade, mysterious, black, lily
- Pronunciation: SHWEHN, SOON
- Namesakes: Xuan Dong, also called Michelle Dong, a Chinese actress and singer. Xuan Ai, a Chinese painter. Xuan Liu, a former Chinese artistic gymnast.
- Popularity: Xuan peaked early, at #4,958 in 1981, and was last recorded in U.S. births in 2019 at #13,737.
Xue
Xue carries two of the best meanings available in three letters: snow, or learning and study. In China it works more often as a surname, with roots going back to the ancient State of Xue in what is now Shandong. Pair skater Xue Shen and Olympic diver Xue Sang have both competed under it.
- Origin: Chinese
- Meaning: Snow, learning, studious
- Pronunciation: SHWEH, SWEHY
- Namesakes: Xue Shen, a Chinese pair skater. Xue Han, also known as Cecilia Han, a Chinese singer and actress. Xue Sang, a Chinese female diver and Olympic synchronized swimming gold medalist.
- Popularity: Xue charted in U.S. births from 1981, peaked that same year at #9,095 and last appeared in 2000 at #14,968.
Xueye
Xueye joins xue, snow, or xue in another tone, study, to ye, which covers splendid, bright and firelight. Brilliant snow is the usual translation, though splendid student is available if that is the hope you want on the record. Snow and fire in one name is an unusual pairing, and it doubles neatly as a nature name.
- Origin: Chinese
- Meaning: Brilliant snow, bright snow
- Pronunciation: SHWEH-yuh, SWEHY-yeh
- Variations: Xue Ye
- Popularity: Xueye sits below the SSA’s five-births cutoff, so American parents have not yet put it on the record.
Xueying
Xueying starts with snow and then opens up, because the second character can be read as hero, flower, welcome, clever, or the luster of gems, with snow flower the translation that travels best. Olympic weightlifting champion Xueying Li and actress Xueying Zhang share the name’s public face. It is long for English speakers, and the SSA has never published a U.S. ranking for it.
- Origin: Chinese
- Meaning: Snow flower, lustrous snow, welcome the snow
- Pronunciation: SHWEH-yung, SWEHY-eeng
- Namesakes: Xueying Zhang, also known as Sophie Zhang, a popular Chinese actress. Xueying Li, a Chinese World Championship and Olympic weightlifting gold medalist.
- Popularity: The SSA publishes no ranking for Xueying.
Xun
Xun is short and sturdy on the page and melodious in the mouth, SHOON. The character can be read as rank or meritorious deed, or as sudden and fast. As a Mandarin surname it carries an older sense: herb. Chinese actress and singer Xun Zhou is the bearer to look up.
- Origin: Chinese
- Meaning: Swift, meritorious deed
- Pronunciation: SHOON, SHOO-in, SHOONG
- Namesakes: Xun Zhou, a popular Chinese actress and singer.
- Popularity: American birth records contain no entry for Xun.
Xureila
Xureila is an invention in English, where the first syllable means nothing at all and the ending may be borrowed from Leila, night, or from Sheila, while in Spanish it is treated as a form of Zuriela, from the Hebrew Zuriel, my rock is God. The same spelling is therefore either meaningless or devout, depending on the language it lands in. That is a lot of range for a name barely anyone uses.
- Origin: Latin American, English
- Meaning: My rock is God, night, blind
- Pronunciation: zuh-REYE-luh, zuh-RAY-luh
- Variations: Zuriela
- Namesakes: Kaitlyn Bullitt, an American YouTube gamer whose username is Xureila.
- Popularity: Xureila first charted in 2021, reached #9,647 in 2022 and ranked #11,881 in 2025.
Xuri
Xuri is Swahili for beautiful, and there is no complication to report. ZOO-ree is short, warm and immediately sayable in English. You do not need a reason to tell your daughter she is lovely, and this puts it on every form she ever fills in.
- Origin: Eastern African
- Meaning: Beautiful
- Pronunciation: ZOO-ree
- Variations: Zuri
- Namesakes: Xuri Fenton, a Mexican social media personality and artist.
- Popularity: Xuri ranked #3,708 in 2025 in SSA data, not far from its 2023 best of #3,223.
Xyla
Xyla is an English build on the Greek xylon, wood, and it has caught on faster than anything else here. Engineer and YouTube creator Xyla Foxlin is doing the most for its visibility. Its climb is recent enough that a girl named Xyla now will still be the only one in her class for a while yet.
- Origin: Greek, English
- Meaning: Wood
- Pronunciation: ZEYE-lah, ZEYE-luh
- Variations: Zyla
- Namesakes: Xyla Foxlin, an American engineer, entrepreneur, and YouTube personality.
- Popularity: Xyla is the fastest riser on this list, up about 585 percent when the last ten years of U.S. births are compared with the ten years before them, and it reached its best rank yet in 2025 at #763.
Xylina
Xylina was coined in the early twentieth century, either as a stretch of Xylia or straight from the Greek xylinos, wooden. Wood as a meaning sounds stiff until you think about what people once made from it, dolls included. The name itself is anything but stiff: zeye-LEE-nuh runs light and quick. It had a real moment in the late 1980s and has been waiting quietly ever since.
- Origin: Greek, English
- Meaning: Wooden, wood
- Pronunciation: zeye-LEE-nuh
- Variations: Xylia
- Popularity: Xylina peaked at #4,305 in 1988 and last appeared in U.S. records in 2021 at #17,550.
Xylo
Xylo comes from the Greek xylon, wood, the same piece you already know from xylophone, which literally means wood sound. That gives a musical household an obvious reason to like it. It also slots straight into the Kylo and Mylo pattern that has been running for years. Its rank has crept upward since it first charted in 2018, hitting a new best in 2025. Short, unisex and rising, it asks nothing difficult of anyone.
- Origin: Greek, English
- Meaning: Wood
- Pronunciation: ZEYE-loh
- Popularity: Xylo hit its best U.S. rank in 2025 at #1,903, seven years after first charting in 2018.
Xyra
Xyra is an Arabic choice that means moon, one of several lunar options on this list. The X spelling fits a broader modern habit of respelling borrowed names with a sharper look. ZEYE-ruh is the only reading on offer, which makes it one of the simpler names here to hand over.
- Origin: Arabic
- Meaning: Moon
- Pronunciation: ZEYE-ruh
- Popularity: Xyra reached #4,660 in 2024 and ranked #8,335 in 2025 in SSA records.
Xzandria
Xzandria hands you two of the least-used letters in one go. It is a variant of Xandria and Zandria, both short forms of Alexandria, so the meaning stays defender of men. A name this decorated needs no nickname, though Xandy and Zandra are within reach. Nobody is using it, which means your daughter would own it outright.
- Origin: Greek, English
- Meaning: Defending men, protector of men
- Pronunciation: ZAN-dree-uh
- Variations: Xandria, Zandria
- Popularity: Xzandria peaked at #11,797 in 2005 and last appeared in U.S. births in 2013 at #14,528.
