The Letter X in Modern Baby Names

February 15, 2021

Did you know that Jaxon was the 42nd most popular name for baby boys in the U.S. in 2019?

It's not the only "X" name to gain popularity in recent years. As you can see from the chart below, names with an X in them have steadily increased in popularity since about 1980.

What were the most popular baby names containing an X in 2019?

1. Alexander

11,253 births; 99.8% male

2. Jaxon

7,243 births; 99.7% male

Alternate spelling of Jackson, which is itself a pretty newfangled name.

3. Axel

4,487 births; 99.8% male

When Guns 'n Roses groupies grow up and start a family...

Aging rocker Axl Rose. The spelling Axl has also gained popularity recently.

4. Jaxson

4,480 births; 99.8% male

5. Xavier

4,167 births; 99.9% male

6. Braxton

3,014 births; 99.6% male

7. Max

2,763 births; 99.0% male

I personally intend to name my first child Max Danger Power.

8. Maxwell

2,673 births; 97.9% male

9. Maddox

2,570 births; 95.8% male

10. Alex

2,525 births; 94.1% male

11. Phoenix

2,416 births; 57.9% male

Phoenix really took off after the death of actor River Phoenix in 1993. River has seen a very similar trend.

The mythical Phoenix, rising from its own ashes.

12. Xander

2,331 births; 99.7% male

13. Ximena

2,180 births; 100% female

Ximena is a female Basque variant of the name Simon. Ximena Sariñana and Ximena Navarrete are Mexican celebrities who have contributed to the recent popularity of the name.

Ximena Navarrete won the Miss Universe beauty pageant in 2010.

14. Alexandra

2,122 births; 100% female

15. Alexa

2,000 births; 99.8% female

If all the Alexa's in the world banded together and filed a class-action lawsuit against Amazon, I would support them.

16. Alexis

1,983 births; 66.5% female

Alexis was the 3rd most popular name for baby girls in 1999, explaining the bump on our graph above.

17. Felix

1,696 births; 99.1% male

Felix is a Latin word that means "lucky". It is also a generic name for a cat.

Felix the Cat

18. Maximus

1,637 births; 100% male

19. Jax

1,606 births; 99.1% male

20. Knox

1,570 births; 98.9% male

Want More?

100 Most Common Baby Names Containing X

12 comments
Yev
+2
February 16, 2021
Interesting article. Not sure why X is trendy, I always hated that letter. What can x do that ks can't ? Aleksandr seems much better than Alexander to me.
NameGeek
+1
February 16, 2021
What about Alexzander?
ClutchNferno
+1
February 16, 2021
Hmm. Interesting. Is this a new website? Will Dan or John be doing this one. I know one person named Knox and assumed it was very uncommon.
GrandOldMan
+1
February 16, 2021
Knox is a name that went freshly out of style (cough cough James Knox Polk), but as X names go on the rise, Knox is rebounding.
MG17
+1
February 16, 2021
Wow... that’s nice! I was expecting for a new article!
GrandOldMan
+1
February 16, 2021
Only a few names actually work with an "X". But I'm trying to imagine my name having an X...Grahamx?
NameIsNeilVedwan
+1
March 16, 2021
Neilx?
MG17
+1
March 25, 2021
Giovannix? Wow, I would rather not have put the X...
SirPhilippines
+1
February 16, 2021
Wow! Never knew Alex was so low... the more you know!
GrandOldMan
+1
April 10, 2021
It's more of a shortened name. Most birth certificates will say "Alexander", not "Alex".
NameIsNeilVedwan
+1
March 1, 2021
The name Xi is more popular than ever before. Xi Jinping must be delighted!
Georgewashington
+1
September 3, 2021
My name is Axel and literally everybody asks if it’s because of Axl Rose. It’s not.