Baby names that start with X

X marks the rarest spot for baby names

X is the rarest letter for names. Few begin with it, so a child with an X name is nearly always the only one in class. The letter was borrowed from the Greeks, who used it for two different sounds, and it has been a mark of the unknown since "X marks the spot". Parents who choose it are usually drawn by the energy and the rarity.

How to say an X name

Pronunciation is half the adventure. At the start of an English word, X sounds like Z, so Xander is "ZAN-der" and Xenia is "ZEE-nee-uh". In Spanish, Ximena can sound like "hee-MEH-nah". In Mandarin pinyin, X is a soft "sh"-like sound, so Xia sounds close to "shyah". The Nahuatl name Xochitl sounds roughly like "SOH-cheel". Tell your family, and your child, how to say the name from day one.

Where X names come from

Greek gives Xenia (hospitality), Xanthe (golden) and Xander (defender of the people). Spanish gives Xavier, a Basque name meaning "new house", and Ximena. Chinese gives Xia and Xiao, and Persia gives Xerxes. Xochitl means "flower" in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs. Greek names are the best place to look for an X name that is easy to spell.

Pop culture has helped. Parents often credit characters in comics, television and fantasy novels for the rise of Xavier, Xander and Xaden, though each name has a much older root.

X names worth a closer look

• Xanthe Girl · Greek · Golden

  A Greek name for golden hair, lovely and easy to spell.

• Xochitl Girl · Native American · Flower

  A Nahuatl name for flower, with a graceful sound once you learn to say it.

• Xander Boy · Greek · Defender of the people

  A friendly short form of Alexander that works as a first name in its own right.

• Ximena Girl · Spanish · Hearkening

  A Spanish favourite with a soft sound and a long history.

• Xia Girl · Chinese · Rosy clouds

  A short Chinese name with a bright meaning.

Famous people whose first names start with X

• Xerxes I, the king of the Persian Empire in the fifth century BC
• Xenophon, the Athenian soldier and historian
• Xavi Hernández, the Spanish footballer who starred for Barcelona and Spain, and later coached Barcelona
• Xavier Dolan, the Canadian filmmaker from Quebec
• Xochitl Gómez, the American actor who played America Chavez in Doctor Strange
• Xiaolu Guo, the Chinese-born British novelist and film director

Questions about X names