Xavier

English

Etymology

Toponymic surname of a 16th-century saint born in the Kingdom of Navarre (now partially placed in Spain), Francis de Xavier, from a place name in the Kingdom of Navarre, originally from Basque Xabier. Doublet of Echeverría.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈzeɪ.vɪə/, /ˈzæv.ɪə/, /ɪɡˈzeɪ.vɪə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈzeɪ.vjɚ/, /ˈzeɪ.vi.ɚ/, /ɪɡˈzeɪ.vjɚ/, /ɪɡˈzeɪ.vi.ɚ/
• (approximating Spanish) IPA^(key): /ˈhɑvi.ɛɹ/, /hɑviˈɛɹ/
• Rhymes: -eɪvjə(ɹ)

Proper noun

Xavier

1. A male given name from Spanish [in turn from Basque].
   • 1976, Don DeLillo, Ratner's Star, Knopf, →ISBN, page 337:

     "Full name please." "Maurice Xavier Wu." "Where did you get the Xavier?" "My father was a missionary," he said.

   • 2007, Sharon Kendrick, The Sheikh's English Bride, Harlequin, →ISBN, page 60:

     'I keep telling you to call me Xavier,' he interjected silkily, aware that her reluctance to do so intrigued him. 'Xavier,' Laura agreed, and then hesitated. How could his name be so...so...enticing? Because it was foreign to her lips―lingering there like the juice of a fruit she had never tasted before? Or because it was impossible to say without first softening your voice?

2. A surname from Spanish [in turn from Basque], found chiefly among people of Spanish and Portuguese descent.
   • 2020 October 7, “Network News: Plaque at Chatham honours colour bar pioneer”, in Rail, page 26:

     A plaque commemorating the memory of British Rail guard Asquith Xavier, who broke the colour bar at Euston station in 1966, was unveiled at Chatham station on September 24.

3. Any of various notable people with this name as given name or surname, especially Saint Francis Xavier, a Spanish Catholic saint and missionary (1506–1552).

Usage notes

• The given name was rare (among English speakers) until the 1980s, when it began to rise in popularity. The surname is still rare.

Derived terms

• X
• Xavierian
• Xavierite
• X-Verse

 

Translations

male given name

• Aragonese: Chabier
• Basque: Xabier (eu)
• Catalan: Xavier (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 薩維／萨维 (saat³ wai⁴)

  Mandarin: (Catholic) 沙勿略 (Shāwùlüè), (Mainland China) 澤維爾／泽维尔 (Zéwéiěr), 賽維爾／赛维尔 (Sàiwéiěr), (Taiwan) 札維耶／札维耶 (Zhāwéiyē)

• Corsican: Saveriu m
• Czech: Xaver
• Dutch: Xaverius (nl)
• Esperanto: Ksavero
• French: Xavier (fr)
• Galician: Xavier (gl)
• German: Xaver (de)
• Greek: Ξαβέριος (el) (Xavérios), Ξαβέρης (Xavéris)
• Hungarian: Xavér (hu)
• Inuktitut: ᐃᒃᓵᕕᐊᕐ (iksaafiar)
• Italian: Saverio (it) m
• Japanese: シャビエル (Shabieru), ゼイヴィア (Zeivia), エグゼビア (Eguzebia), グザヴィエ (Guzevie), ザビエル (Zabieru)
• Latin: Xaverius (la) m
• Polish: Ksawery (pl)
• Portuguese: Xavier (pt)
• Romanian: Xaveriu
• Russian: Ксаве́рий (ru) (Ksavérij)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman: Ksaverij

• Slovak: Xaver
• Spanish: Javier (es)
• Swedish: Xavier (sv)
• Vietnamese: Xaviê
• Walloon: Zavî (wa)

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Xavier is the 9638^th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 3367 individuals. Xavier is most common among White (48.56%), Black/African American (21.29%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (16.01%) individuals.

Catalan

Etymology

From the toponymic surname of a Spanish saint, from Basque Xabier. See Xavier for more.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ʃə.βiˈe]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ʃə.viˈe]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [t͡ʃa.viˈeɾ]

Proper noun

Xavier m

1. a male given name, equivalent to English Xavier

Derived terms

• Xavi

Cebuano

Etymology

From Spanish Xavier, from Francis Xavier, from Basque Xabier.

Proper noun

Xavier

1. a male given name from Spanish [in turn from Basque], equivalent to English Xavier

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡza.vje/, /ksa.vje/

• Audio:

  (file)

Proper noun

Xavier m

1. a male given name from Basque, equivalent to English Xavier

Usage notes

• The compound given name François-Xavier also occurs, in honor of the saint.

Portuguese

Etymology

From the toponymic surname of a Spanish saint, from Basque Xabier. See Xavier for more.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ʃa.viˈɛʁ/ [ʃa.vɪˈɛh], (faster pronunciation) /ʃaˈvjɛʁ/ [ʃaˈvjɛh]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ʃa.viˈɛʁ/ [ʃa.vɪˈɛh], (faster pronunciation) /ʃaˈvjɛʁ/ [ʃaˈvjɛh]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /ʃa.viˈɛɾ/ [ʃa.vɪˈɛɾ], (faster pronunciation) /ʃaˈvjɛɾ/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ʃa.viˈɛʁ/ [ʃa.vɪˈɛχ], (faster pronunciation) /ʃaˈvjɛʁ/ [ʃaˈvjɛχ]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ʃa.viˈɛɻ/ [ʃa.vɪˈɛɻ], (faster pronunciation) /ʃaˈvjɛɻ/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ʃɐˈvjɛɾ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ʃɐˈvjɛɾ/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ʃɐˈbjɛɾ/ [ʃɐˈβjɛɾ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ʃɐˈvjɛ.ɾi/

• Hyphenation: Xa‧vi‧er

Proper noun

Xavier m (plural Xavieres)

1. a male given name from Basque, equivalent to English Xavier

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /xaˈbjeɾ/ [xaˈβ̞jeɾ]
• Rhymes: -eɾ
• Syllabification: Xa‧vier

Proper noun

Xavier m

1. (chiefly Spain and US) a male given name, variant of Javier, equivalent to English Xavier