His posthumous name was recorded as Duke Ning of Qin (秦寧公) in the Records of the Grand Historian by Western Han historian Sima Qian, but inscriptions on excavated bronzes from the era have proven that "Ning" (寧) was a miscopy of the correct character "Xian" (憲).
His father was given the posthumous title Duke Jing of Qin (秦竫公) although he never ascended the throne.
[2] In 714 BC, the second year of Duke Xian's reign, the Qin capital was moved to Pingyang (平陽, in present-day Baoji, Shaanxi).
The second son, later known as Duke De of Qin, was born to the same mother, Lu Ji (鲁姬).
However, the ministers Fuji and Sanfu deposed the crown prince and installed the youngest son, by Duke Xian's other wife Wang Ji (王姬), on the throne.