Continuing my posts of rare-letter names, it is now time for X. X is the third-least-common starting letter in American names for both boys and girls, after U and Q. Chances are you can name Xavier and Xander for boys, but girls are more difficult--perhaps rare name-nerd favorite Xanthe springs to mind, or Spanish imports Xiomara and Ximena.
X-names may be hard to come by in English, but I bet we can find plenty abroad....
(if you're feeling a bit of deja vu, I did indeed do an X-themed post a few years ago, but this time I'm focusing solely on names starting with X ;) )
Boys:
- Xabier (shah-bee-ehr, Basque, Galician)--form of Xavier. Other forms include Xaver (KSAH-vehr, German).
- Xacobe (shah-KAW-bay, Galician)--form of Jacob
- Xanthus (KSAHN-toos, ZAN-thus, [ancient] Greek)--"yellow, blond". Other forms include Xanthias (ksahn-TEE-ahs, ZAN-thee-as).
- Xanti (shahn-tee, Basque)--form of Santiago
- Xenios (KSEN-ee-os, ZEN-ee-os, [ancient] Greek)--"hospitality".
- Xenophon (ZEN-ah-fon, ksen-ah-FOHN, [ancient] Greek)--"foreign voice"
- Xesús (shay-SOOS, Galician)--form of Jesus/Joshua. Other forms include Xosué (shaw-soo-AY).
- Xherdan (JEHR-dahn, Albanian)--poss. "necklace"
- Xhevahir (jev-ah-HEER, Albanian)--from Turkish, "jewel"
- Xhevdet (JEV-det, Albanian)--poss. from Arabic [via Turkish], "excellence"
- Xian (SHEE-ahn, Galician)--form of Julian
- Xicu (SHEE-koo, Asturian)--poss. a form of Francis/Francisco
- Ximeno (hee-MAY-noh, Spanish)--poss. a form of Simon
- Ximo (SHEE-moh, Catalan)--short form of Joaquín/Joaquim
- Ximun (shee-moon, Basque)--form of Simon
- Xoán (shoh-AHN, Galician)--form of John. Other forms include Xuan (SHOO-ahn, Asturian).
- Xulio (SHOO-lee-oh, Galician)--form of Julio/Julius
- Xunio (SHOO-nee-oh, Galician)--form of Junius
- Xurxo (SHOOR-shoh, Galician)--form of George
- Xustino (shoos-TEE-noh, Galician)--form of Justin
Girls:
- Xabierra (shah-bee-ehr-rah, Basque)--feminine of Xabier/Xavier. Other forms include Xaveria (ksah-VEHR-ee-ah, German), Xaverine (ksah-ver-REE-neh, German; zah-veh-REEN, French), Xaviera (zay-vee-EHR-ah, English; ksah-vee-EHR-ah, Dutch), and Xavière (zahv-YEHR, French),
- Xana (SHAH-nah, Portuguese)--short form of Alexandra
- Xandra (KSAHN-drah, Dutch; SHAHN-drah, Galician; ZAN-drah, English)--short form of Alexandra
- Xanthe (KSAHN-tay, ZAN-thee, [ancient] Greek)--"yellow, blond". Other forms include Xanthis (KSAHN-tis, ZAN-this) and Xantho (KSAHN-toh, ZAN-thoh).
- Xanthippe (ksahn-TEE-pay, zan-THIP-ee, [ancient] Greek)--"yellow horse". Other forms include Xanthippi (ksahn-TIP-pee, Greek), and Xantippa (zan-TIP-pah, Latin).
- Xelha (SHEL-hah, Mayan)--"spring of water". Also spelled Xel-Ha.
- Xenia (ksen-EE-ah, Greek)--"hospitality". Other forms include Xene (KSEN-ee, Greek) and Xenie (ksen-EE-eh, Czech).
- Xènia (SHEN-yah, Catalan)--short form of Eugenia. Portuguese form is Xenia (shen-EE-ah).
- Xenoveva (shen-aw-VEH-vah, Asturian, Galician)--form of Genevieve
- Xesca (SHES-kah, Catalan)--form of Francesca
- Xheneta (jen-EH-tah, Albanian)--poss. "paradise"
- Xhevahire (jev-ah-HEER-eh, Albanian)--from Turkish, "jewel"
- Xia (shee-AH, Mandarin)--"daybreak" or "summer" [also a surname]
- Xiana (shee-AH-nah, Galician)--feminine of Xian/Julian
- Ximena (hee-MAY-nah, Spanish)--feminine of Ximeno
- Xiomara (see-oh-MAHR-ah, Spanish)--poss. from Germanic, "famous battle"
- Xoana (shoh-AH-nah, Galician)--form of Joan/Jane
- Xochitl (SHOH-chee-tl, Nahuatl)--"flower"
- Xulia (SHOO-lee-ah, Asturian, Galician)--form of Julia
- Xunia (SHOO-nee-ah, Galician)--form of Junia
Unisex:
- Xiu (shee-oo, Mandarin)--"beautiful" [usually fem.], or "rest" or "build" [both masc.]
- Xuan (soo-un, Vietnamese)--"spring"
- Xue (shoo-eh, Mandarin)--"snow" or "learning"
- Xun (shoon, Mandarin)--"fast, sudden"
