Xenia
Feminine · “hospitality”
Xenia is a Greek word for something the Greeks took extremely seriously: the obligation to a stranger at your door. It was not politeness — it was a duty enforced, in the poems, by Zeus himself.
How old is the name Xenia?
Xenia first appears in US birth records in 1894 — 131 years ago. The typical Xenia alive today was born around 1998, making them about 27 years old. About 2,700 people named Xenia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Xenia most popular?
Xenia peaked in 1894, reaching #1353 nationally. Today it ranks #2895, 1,542 places below that high. See the whole 1894 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From xenos to Xenia
The story of Xenia
Xenia is the system by which a stranger who arrives is fed, housed and given a gift before anyone asks his name, and a good deal of the Odyssey is an argument about who observes it and who does not — the suitors and the cyclops fail it, and are punished. The word became a woman's name, carried by a fifth-century saint and then, in a quite separate line, by a Saint Xenia of Saint Petersburg, which made it a common Russian name. It reaches United States records through Greek and Russian families both.
Meaning
hospitality; the duty owed to a guest
Greek xenia comes from xenos, which means both a stranger and a guest — the same word, because the relationship was expected to convert one into the other. Zeus in his aspect as Xenios protected it. The reading is documented and undisputed. The same xenos gives English xenophobia, which names the exact opposite of what this word does.
How the name formed
- xenos
- xenia
- Xenia
Related forms: Ξένια · Kseniya · Xenia · Ksenia
Pronouncing Xenia
ZEE-nee-uh
Three syllables, stress on the first, the x said as a z at the start of a word in English. Greek says KSE-nee-a, sounding both consonants, and Russian Kseniya writes that out. American English drops the k.
Nicknames for Xenia
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1894
- Most girls named
- 202376 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1353reached in 1894
- Change vs 2023
- −23.7%58 in 2025, from 76
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Xenia in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ξένια in Greek — transliteration
- Kseniya in Russian — same name
- Xenia in German — same name
- Ksenia in Polish — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Xenias among us
people named Xenia are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 27,712 born in 2025 was named Xenia
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Xenia
- #2895
- Xenia on the 2025 chart
- #875
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Xenia went to 58 girls in 2025, but Ksenia and Xeniyah are the same name said out loud. Together the 3 spellings went to 85, which makes it the 875th most-given girls’ name of the year — 2,020 places above the chart.
- Xenia58
- Ksenia18
- Xeniyah9
About 1 girl in 18,909 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 27,712 for Xenia itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Xenia sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Xenia is headed
Xenia should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Xenia beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Xenia in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A documented meaning naming a real and generous social institution.
- The X gives it a distinctive shape on paper while being easy to say.
- Recognized across Greek, Russian, German and Polish naming alike.
- The X is said as a Z, and people meeting it in print will hesitate.
- Xenia, Ksenia and Kseniya are one name with three quite different-looking spellings.
- It shares a root with xenophobia, which some people will notice and mention.
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What they receive
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Xenia
Feminine · #2895 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Xenias are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,700 people named Xenia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Xenia?
- Xenia is the most-used spelling in US records — 58 of the 85 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Ksenia and Xeniyah.
- How popular is the name Xenia in 2025?
- Xenia ranks #2895 among US girl names in 2025, with 58 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Xenia?
- About 1 in every 27,712 US girls born in 2025 was named Xenia — 58 in all.
- Will my child share the name Xenia with classmates?
- Xenia will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Xenia
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Noora#2895 · Mylie#2895 · Vanellope#2895 · Amore#2895 · Miamor#2895 · Alyah#2895 · Alaska#2895 · Anastacia#2895
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Xenia? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Xenia and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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