How to say it
XA · vi · er
/ˈzeɪ.vi.ɚ/
Masculine
Xavier
New house
What it means
Basque place name from Etxeberria ('new house'), shortened to Xavier through Spanish. Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552), the Jesuit missionary, gave the name its global Catholic reach.
Xavier comes from a Basque place name, Etxeberria ('new house'), the village where Saint Francis Xavier was born. Through Spanish it became Javier (or Xavier in older spelling), and as a given name it spread with the Catholic Church via the saint's missionary footprint. Francis Xavier (1506-1552) was a co-founder of the Jesuits and the first Catholic missionary to Japan, India, and parts of Indonesia. The name carried particular weight in Spanish and Portuguese colonial territories. X-Men's Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart, James McAvoy) gave it modern pop-culture anchor. It's been in the US top 100 since 2002. Common shorts: Xav, Xavi.
Popularity over time
peaked at #68 in 2007, currently #108 in 2025.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–present. See where the names are moving
Heads-up notes
- Pronunciation
ZAY-vee-er in standard US English; HA-vee-er for the Spanish Javier; sha-vee-AY in French. The X is pronounced as Z, H, or SH depending on the tradition.
Who's worn it
Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.
- Saint Francis Xavier Co-founder of the Jesuits, first Catholic missionary to Japan and India
- Professor Charles Xavier Marvel's Professor X, leader of the X-Men
Spelling variants
- Javier
- Xabier
- Xavi
Names with the same feeling
See Xavier from another angle
By style