Xavier
Feminine · “Basque etxeberri”
Xavier is given to boys far more often — 160,332 boys against 868 girls since 1880. See Xavier as a boy name
Xavier is not a virtue or a saint's given name. It is a castle in Navarre. Francis Xavier was Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta, and Xavier was where he came from, which makes this one of the oldest place-names-as-first-names in European use.
How old is the name Xavier?
Xavier first appears in US birth records in 1960 — 65 years ago. The typical Xavier alive today was born around 1992, making them about 33 years old. About 800 people named Xavier are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Xavier most popular?
Xavier peaked in 1988, reaching #3095 nationally. Today it ranks #10107, 7,012 places below that high. See the whole 1988 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Etxeberria to Xavier
The story of Xavier
The spelling records a sound change. In sixteenth-century Spanish the letter x spelled the sound English writes sh, so Xavier was Shabier and Quixote was Keeshote and Mexico was Meshico. During the following century that sound moved back in the mouth to the harsh h Spanish now has, and the Spanish Academy respelled most words with j: Quijote, Mejico, Javier. But some spellings were fixed by international fame before the reform reached them, so Mexico kept its x, and so did Xavier, and the world now says both with sounds the letter never had. Javier and Xavier are one name in two spellings, separated by a spelling reform that arrived too late. English then added a third pronunciation of its own, ZAY-vee-er, from reading the x as a plain English letter.
Meaning
Basque etxeberri, the new house
From the Basque place name Etxeberria or Xabier, from etxe, house, and berri, new. Francis Xavier, born in the castle of Xavier in 1506, took it as his surname, and his fame turned it into a given name across Catholic Europe. Xavier is given to a small number of American girls each year; the female peak is 1988.
How the name formed
- Etxeberria
- Xabier
- Xavier
Related forms: Javier · Xabier · Xavier · Xavier
Pronouncing Xavier
ZAY-vee-er
Three syllables in English, stress on the first, though eks-AY-vee-er is also common. Spanish Javier is hah-vee-AIR with the stress at the end. All are the same name.
Nicknames for Xavier
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1960
- Most girls named
- 199134 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3095reached in 1988
- Change vs 2024
- +50.0%9 in 2025, from 6
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Xavier in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Javier in Spanish — spelling variant
- Xabier in Basque — same name
- Xavier in Portuguese — same name
- Xavier in French — same name
Xaviers among us
people named Xavier are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 178,585 born in 2025 was named Xavier
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Dalinda test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Xavier's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Dalinda climbed just as high around 1960, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Dalinda's path sketches the road Xavier is walking now.
Xavier sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Xavier beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Xavier in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It is used across Spanish, Portuguese, French and English without translation.
- The origin is documented precisely, down to the building.
- X as an initial is distinctive and easy to write.
- In every country that uses it, this is overwhelmingly a male name.
- Three pronunciations are current in English alone.
- It will be assumed to be a surname or a middle name on forms.
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What they receive
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Xavier
Feminine · #10107 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Xaviers are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Xavier are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Xavier in 2025?
- Xavier ranks #10107 among US girl names in 2025, with 9 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Xavier?
- About 1 in every 178,585 US girls born in 2025 was named Xavier — 9 in all.
- Will my child share the name Xavier with classmates?
- Xavier will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Xavier
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Berta#10107 · Jettie#10107 · Maye#10107 · Osa#10107 · Fidelia#10107 · Alysa#10107 · Su#10107 · Willie#10107
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Xavier? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Xavier and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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