# Xerxes (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/xerxes/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | “ruler among kings” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈzɝksiːz/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 304 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 304 / 0 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 14, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Ancient Greek Ξέρξης (Xérxēs), from Old Persian 𐎧𐏁𐎹𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠 (x-š-y-a-r-š-a /⁠Xšayāršā⁠/, “ruler among kings”). Doublet of Ahasuerus.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 10 | 8,105 |
| 2012 | 12 | 7,023 |
| 2013 | 8 | 9,625 |
| 2014 | 13 | 6,611 |
| 2015 | 15 | 5,979 |
| 2016 | 13 | 6,707 |
| 2017 | 14 | 6,317 |
| 2018 | 21 | 4,729 |
| 2019 | 11 | 7,615 |
| 2020 | 10 | 8,028 |
| 2021 | 14 | 6,323 |
| 2022 | 17 | 5,621 |
| 2023 | 16 | 5,903 |
| 2024 | 19 | 5,228 |
| 2025 | 17 | 5,593 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 4 | 3,385 |
| 2014 | 3 | 4,632 |
| 2024 | 3 | 5,119 |
| 2025 | 4 | 4,275 |

## In other languages

- Hindi: क्षयार्ष, ख़शायर
- Polish: Kserkses

## People named Xerxes

- Xerxes I, fifth Achaemenid emperor (486–465 BC)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.