Well attestedNamed from the place
Xavier
noun · first attested 16th century
One of the most widespread Catholic first names is really a Navarrese village address.
A male given name and surname.
Record
- Relationship
- Named from the place
- Confidence
- Well attestedThe place link is the standard scholarly account.
- Attested
- 16th century
- Part of speech
- noun
Explanations here are written for this atlas. Dictionary text is not copied; the sources are linked so the claim can be checked.
- Step 1
Javier
- In English
Xavier
Francis Xavier was born in 1506 in the castle of Javier in Navarre and took the place as his surname, in the usual way for nobles. His canonization in 1622 and the spread of the Jesuit missions carried the name through Catholic Europe, Asia and Latin America, where it turned into a given name. The village name comes from Basque etxe berri, new house, which makes Xavier a doublet of the surname Echeverria.
Spain
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