We’ve covered Ignatius and Aloysius, so it seems only natural that today we turn our attention to Xavier.
Thanks to Lola for suggesting our Name of the Day.
Xavier is originally a place name, but the first bearer is best known for wandering far from home.
Francisco de Xavier was born in 1506, an aristocrat with an aristocratic moniker. As was the custom, the de Xavier refers to his place of birth – the family castle in the Kingdom of Navarre. This makes Xavier easily the most popular name of Basque derivation today. The original is given as exte berri, etcheberria or echeverria, but in every case the translation is simple: new house. While Xavier Castle is still standing, Francisco’s family surrendered the keys when he was still a boy and Navarre became part of the Kingdom of Spain.
As a younger son, Francisco was destined for the priesthood. He roomed with Ignatius Loyola at the University of Paris. Along with Loyola, he’s considered co-founder of the religious order commonly known as the Jesuits. At a time when travel was rare, Francisco went globe trotting in service to the Catholic church, converting new adherents as far away as India, China and Japan.
Given his influence, it’s not surprising that plenty of children were named in his honor. You’ll find a wealth of Francis Xaviers and Xaviers throughout the historical record, and the name is translated into virtually every language – Saverio in Italian, Ksawery in Polish and, of course, Javier in Spanish.
While the practice of naming children after saints is less common than ever, Xavier’s use is at all time high in the US. He ranked a quite popular #68 in 2007.
You’ll most often hear Xavier pronounced as a two-syllable name: ZAYV yer, leading to the modern English variant Zavier. Some favor a three-syllable ecks ZAYV yer, giving us the tortured respelling Xzavier. And the Latino Javier – hav EE yair - is common, too.
Perhaps some parents are influenced by fictional X-Men founder Charles Francis Xavier, better known as Professor X. The name has undeniable fringe hero cachet without being as obvious as calling your kid Anakin.
We’ve had a soft spot for the name ever since Xavier Roberts inflicted the Cabbage Patch Kid craze on unsuspecting parents of the 80s. If you recall, every Kid came with a birth certificate. In our day, names were never repeated, and were often deliciously weird.
Today, parents who choose Xavier may be surprised to discover that he’s as common as Wyatt or Julian – about 6,500 boys were given each name last year. Xavier is also big in Australia and Canada.
With his zippy Z-sound, Xavier manages to sound offbeat and different, without actually being truly unusual. This could represent a perfect compromise for parents bored with preppy surnames like Carson and Sawyer and the monotony of ends-in-n choices like Ryan, Aidan and Logan. For others, Xavier is the kind of choice that would’ve been ideal – had only their son been born back in 1982.
We like him quite a bit, and think he works well for a modern child. In fact, we don’t mind hearing quite a bit of Xavier.
I love Xavier, although I’d save it for a middle name because it is so popular. I used to work in a daycare and one of the kids there was named Xavier and he was one of the sweetest little baby boys I’ve ever met. My boyfriend and I are still considering this name, but not sure it works well with his surname.
Laney, I’m a huge fan of Xavier, too – but my husband’s last name starts with an S, so it sort of sounds hissy.
Should Clio turn out to be a boy, I’m thinking he’ll be Henry Xavier Clark or Henry Xavier Clare … it’s a toss-up. I’d still prefer Giacomo, but Arthur has veto’d it because of the racehorse associations. Of course, should Clio turn out to be a boy, he’ll still have to wear all the pink clothing we’ve been receiving as gifts for the first granddaughter in our generation – yikes!
Xavier’s a love. Only pronounce ZAY-vyer, please. Ex-ZAY-vyer is how I learned the surname verion (ala Professor X) should be said. In fact, Had my Josephine been a boy, she would have been Miles Xavier (or Xavier Miles, we hadn’t finalised it). I find him snazzy, happy, snappy and incredibly masculine. I really do love him. He’s a bit too popular (#68) & he sounds a bit out of place with my other kids though.. Leo, Simon, Josephine & Xavier? Nah, I think I’ll leave him as a middle, this time. I find Xavier incredibly appealing. Just don’t let me see an Xzavier, it makes me weep copiously.
The only Xavier I’ve ever met was actually a girl – she must be about 20 by now. She used the three-syllable pronunciation, too, though she was forever having to teach people how to say it!
Lola, I love Miles Xavier – and Xavier Miles, too! It is a toss-up, but I agree – some of your other combos go better with your trio.
Harmony, I’m amazed that you met a female Xavier, but I did stumble across the French feminization of the name – and it is Xaviere, along with Xaverine and Xaviera. Xavier was big in the 70s in France, and it appears that Xaviere peaked a few years later – but today neither is common. I wonder if that inspired her parents? There also Frances Xavier Cabrini, the first American Catholic saint. She was born Maria Francesca; Frances Xavier was the name she took along with her vows. So I suppose that’s a second possible rationale.
I’d love to know what parents think, especially when they choose strikingly unusual names. I find that even the daffiest choice is sometimes charming when you just know why!
Would Cecily be too much trouble for a NotD? She’s been mentioned in passing a few times but nothing on her own. Maybe as a variant of Cecilia? She’s rapidly approaching the top of my list for the one I suspect and Cecilia was my Grandmother, hence Cecily for honoring (Cecilia’s already been done in my generation). I know you’ve got your plate rather full to bursting right now, but thought I’d add it for consideration sometime, she’s a pretty thing, but oh so strong!
I was looking for a girl name and I liked Xavier but everyone kept telling me that ,that is a boys name ,until I came upon Xaviere ,So i decided to call her xaviere if my wife has a girl.
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