Xavier

Xavier is a Basque place name derived from the medieval Basque toponym Etxeberria, meaning new house, which was Latinized and then simplified to Xavier over time. The name gained widespread use as a given name through the influence of Saint Francis Xavier, the sixteenth-century Navarrese Jesuit missionary who evangelized across India, Southeast Asia, and Japan. His enormous popularity among Catholics spread the name throughout Europe and the Americas, where it remains common in Spanish- and French-speaking countries. Javier is the predominant Spanish form, while Saverio is the Italian cognate.