Do you know/have you met anyone called Xan?

[IamnotwhouthinkIam]

I'm considering this name for my DS - I like that it's short and simple but uncommon (and as a bonus kind of cool sounding, at least according to Nameberry ). Does anyone know one? If so do they like it or have any issues with their name that you know of?

The "Xan" for Xanax nn thing doesn't really bother me (since we are in the UK and rarely travel to the US) and he would be Alexander on the birth certificate for CV purposes or if he wanted a change when older anyway.

Thanks for your help .

I know a Xan, short for Xander. He was christened Xander but that is also short for Alexander. He's late 30s and for his age its pretty unique. I know a young Xander too who often gets shorted to Xan/Xand.

No, never heard of it. I prefer Alex as a shortening for Alexander.

I think Alexander is a lovely name, and if you want to shorten it to Xan for day to day use then that's fine, provided you accept he may want to use a different shortening when he grows up.

I know one who is 14, I like it.

Remember Tyne Daly from Cagney and Lacey. Her youngest daughter is called Xan. Her full name is Alyxandra.

There's a Dr Xander on TV

Far too try hard.

Yes. She’s a Xanthe.

I know a Xander. That's his name not nickname. Xan by itself somehow looks Chinese to me!

Personally would go for Alexander then Xan could be a nickname (or Xander or Alex)

There's Xan Brooks.

How do you pronounce it?

Thanks all for your help - really interesting/good to see that a few people have met one and there doesn't seem to be any issues .

The unisex thing doesn't really matter I suppose (after all popular Sam, Danny, Alex etc are nn's used for both sexes too), and I'm not sure the "try hard" thing does either - as people seem to say that on these boards about a lot of names that aren't commonplace (I expect similar would have been said about "Xander" itself before Buffy made it more popular!).

Btw Alexander works well but Alex doesn't sound great with our surname (which ends in X), but I'd have no issue if he preferred it when older - he'd just be introduced by us as Xan Surname from birth until/unless he objected otherwise!

Sorry, missed last comment - pronounced "Zan" as most people say "Al -ee- zan- der" where we live, not "Al -ee- zarn- der".

I also think that pronunciation blends in more with all the Sam's, Dan's etc of his peers, despite being an uncommon name.

It's a lovely nickname, just put something longer on his birth certificate in case he isn't keen later on and wants something more conventional.

I know one. They are Chinese.

I think it's a perfectly fine nn for Alexander! Go for it.

I know a little Xander, Alexander on his bc. He gets Xanzy and Xan sometimes. Also Zanzibar. He's a cutie!

I know a Xavi (pronounced Zavi) - it's short for Xavier.

I know a Xan, a Zan and a Xan-short-for-Xander - all school age but all in different schools/areas.

I know a Xian - he's Chinese.

Thank you all . I had thought of "Zandy" as a cutesy, private nn for him as a toddler but "Zanzibar" is one I hadn't thought of!

Yes, I think it is a Chinese name too - but all most of the baby name books/sites list it as a nn for Alexander/Alexandra, so I assume it's fairly well known as both.

Wow @NellieBertram - guess it's not nearly as uncommon as I thought! At least that means he's unlikely to have any teasing about having a "weird" or "try hard" etc name, so that's a big reassurance.

I know a 15 year old xan, as far as I know it's just xan no long birth certificate name

I know a few but they're Xanthe.