Xavier

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

Toponymic surname of a sixteenth 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 Navarre, originally Basque etxeberria (“the new house”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: zāvē-ər
• Rhymes: -eɪviə(ɹ)

Proper noun

Xavier

1. A male given name.
   • 1976 Don DeLillo, Ratner's Star, Knopf, ISBN 0394400836, 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 0373126123, 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?

Usage notes

• Popular in he U.S.A. and Australia in the 2000s. Formerly rare among anglophones.

Translations

male given name

• Basque: Xabier (eu)
• Catalan: Xavier (ca)
• Czech: Xaver (cs)
• Dutch: Xaverius (nl)
• Esperanto: Ksavero (eo)
• French: Xavier (fr)
• Galician: Xavier (gl)
• German: Xaver (de)
• Hungarian: Xavér (hu)
• Inuktitut: ᐃᒃᓵᕕᐊᕐ (iu) (Iksaaviar)
• Italian: Saverio (it)

• Japanese: エグゼビア (ja) (Eguzebia), グザヴィエ (ja) (Guzevie), ザビエ (ja) (Zabie), シャビエル (ja) (Shabieru)
• Latin: Xaverius (la)
• Polish: Ksawery (pl)
• Portuguese: Xavier (pt)
• Romanian: Xaveriu (ro)
• Russian: Ксаверий (ru) (Ksaverij)
• Serbo-Croatian: Ksaverij (sh)
• Slovak: Xaver (sk)
• Spanish: Javier (es)
• Swedish: Xavier (sv)

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Catalan

Etymology

Surname of a Spanish sixteenth century saint, Francis Xavier, from a place name in Navarre, originally Basque etxeberria (“the new house”).

Pronunciation

• (Eastern) IPA: /ʃəβi'e/, /ʃəvi'e/, X-SAMPA: /S@Bi"e/, /S@vi"e/
• (Western) IPA: /ʃaβi'e/, /ʃavi'e/, X-SAMPA: /SaBi"e/, /Savi"e/
• (Valencian) IPA: /ʃaβi'eɾ/, /ʃavi'eɾ/, X-SAMPA: /SaBi"e4/, /Savi"e4/

Proper noun

Xavier m

1. A male given name cognate to English Xavier

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French

Proper noun

Xavier

1. A male given name, cognate to English Xavier.

Usage notes

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

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Portuguese

Etymology

Surname of a Spanish sixteenth century saint, Francis Xavier, from a place name in Navarre, originally Basque etxeberria (“the new house”).

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ʃa.vi.ˈɛɾ/

Proper noun

Xavier m

1. A male given name.