Name of the Week

An exotic, stylish saintly choice with
a fashionable 'x' and superhero edge.

 

Origin:

Xavier was introduced as a name given in honour of St Francis of Xavier (1506–1552). His birth name was Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta, but was later given the name 'Xavier' in honour of the place of his birth in the kingdom of Navarre.  Xavier is the Spanish spelling of the Basque Extaberri, from exta "house" and berri "new."

Usage:

From the 17th century onwards -- the saint was canonised in 1622 -- we find Xavier in use on the Continent (most usually as 'Francis Xavier' in some variant).  It was late in use in Britain, not really coming into use until the 18th century, and even then was rare.  It was most commonly found as a middle name early on, not only in combination with Francis, but also other saintly names such as Joseph, George and John. This we can see from records on the England and Wales birth index for those named "Francis Xavier" compared to those with Xavier as a first name:  "Francis Xavier"  "Xavier ______" 1840s: 6 births 1850s: 13 births 1860s: 6 births 1870s: 24 births 1880s: 33 births 1890s: 46 births 1900s: 36 births 1910s: 32 births 1920s: 31 births 1930s: 33 births 1940s: 25 births 1950s: 28 births 1960s: 29 births 1970s: 9 births 1840s: 1 birth 1850s: 0 births 1860s: 0 births 1870s: 9 births 1880s: 1 birth 1890s: 5 births 1900s: 4 births 1910s: 7 births 1920s: 3 births 1930s: 0 births 1940s: 3 births 1950s: 19 births 1960s: 46 births 1970s: 106 births Interestingly, up until the 1960s, Francis Xavier was a far more common name than simply Xavier on its own. The increased use of the latter perhaps was influenced in some part by the X-Men comic franchise which started in 1963. It was headed by Professor Charles Xavier, or Professor X, after whom the X-Men were named.  click to enlarge The franchise went from strength to strength, leading to an animated series which ran for five seasons in the 1990s.  In 1996, Xavier ranked #376 (58 births) in England and Wales. It gradually rose up the rankings over the following years, coinciding with the X-Men movies from 2000 onwards.  The name peaked at #163 (360 births) in 2012, after which it declined.  Similarly, in Scotland, Xavier had a birth count of between 1-3 from 1974 to 2006. In 2008 it rose to #345 (9 births) and peaked at #207 (23 births) in 2013.  In 2014, Xavier ranked #224 (254 births) in England and Wales, #399 (8 births) in Scotland and #398 (3 births) in Northern Ireland.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Saint Francis Xavier (1505-1552), Spanish missionary. * Saint François-Xavier of Montmorency-Laval (1623-1708), first Roman Catholic bishop of Quebec. * Xavier Ehrenbert Fridelli (1673–1743), Austrian Jesuit missionary. * Xavier Boniface Saintine (1798–1865), French dramatist and novelist. * Xavier Forneret (1804–1884), French poet, playwright and writer. * Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos (1819-1867), German Redemptorist and missionary. * Xavier Mertz (1883–1913), Swiss explorer. * Xavier Zubiri (1889–1983), Spanish philosopher. * Xavier Abril (1905–1990), Peruvian poet. Contemporary: * Xavier Rush (b. 1977), New Zealand rugby player. * Xavier "Xavi" Hernández i Creus (b. 1980), Catalan footballer for FC Barcelona * Xavier Maassen (b. 1980), Dutch racing driver. * Xavier Samuel (b.1983), Australian actor. Literature and Other Media: * Charles Xavier "Professor X", a character from Marvel Comics' X-Men franchise. * Xavier Austin, a character in Australian soap Home and Away, 2008-2013. * Xavier, the main character of the animated series Xavier: Renegade Angel.

Variants:

Zavier (English), Javier (Spanish), Xabier (Basque), Xaver (German), Saverio (Italian), Ksawery (Polish)

Pronunciation:

ek-ZAY-vee-ə / ZAY-vee-ə (UK) [key]

Possible diminutives:

Xavi

Sibling Names:

Aurelia     Petra     Evelina     Ophelia     Sabina     Beatrix  Rufus     Evander     Phineas     Bastian     Raphael     Magnus

Name Lists:

Upright Elegance   Slickly Continental   Saintly and Stylish

 

If you like Xavier you may also like:    Maxim, Stellan, Benedict, Fabian, Lorenzo, Blaise, Soren, Roman, Linus, Rex

 

Thanks to Lornavianna for requesting this post.