Javier (name)

Javier
Pronunciation	[xaˈβjer]
Gender	Male
Origin
Word/Name	Javier, Kingdom of Navarre, today part of Spain
Other names
Related names	Xabier, Xavier

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Javier (pronounced: [xaˈβjer]) is the Spanish spelling of the masculine name Xavier.

The name derives from the Catholic Saint called Francis de Xavier, where Xavier refers to the saint's birth place. This birth place name, in turn, has Basque roots, etymologically originating in the word etxaberri (etxe berri in standard spelling, meaning "new house"). The original place-name went through a Romance phonetic change in Navarro-Aragonese, a Romance language spoken in the neighbouring Romanzado (cf. Leire) since the Early Middle Ages. Like examples can be found in Irunberri > Lumbier, Erronkari > Roncal. It was later borrowed by Castilian. Other variations of this name include Xaverius, Xever, Javiero, and Saverio. The feminine Javiera, Saveria, Zaviera, and Saverina are less common.

Etxeberria, Echeverría, Echevarría, Etxebarri, Chávarri are Basque surnames related to the name by etymology.

Its diffusion is due to the fame of Jesuit priest and missionary Saint Francis Xavier (Spanish: San Francisco Javier). When he was canonized, places and people were named after him, which popularized the name.

Contemporary use of the name Javier is commonly found in Spain, Equatorial Guinea and Latin American countries, where the name is popular.

[edit] Etymology: from Exaberri to Javier

Loss of the initial e
Loss of the ending i
Middle, accentuated, e became the diphthongized form ie
Old Spanish X was pronounced /ʃ/ as in Basque, like an English SH. Old Spanish /ʃ/ then merged with J (then pronounced the English and later the French way) into /x/, which is now spelled J and pronounced like Scottish or German ch.

Portuguese kept the pronunciation of "x" as the English "sh". Therefore, in Portuguese the name is still spelled Xavier and maintains the original "sh" pronunciation.

[edit] Pronunciation

In Spanish, "Javier" is pronounced hab-YAIR or hav-YAIR, depending on the local accent.

In the English-speaking world, the pronunciation of the Spanish "Javier" is sometimes mistakenly confused with the pronunciation of French words or names ending in "-ier" (such as Xavier, or Olivier). The resulting pronunciation can result in something like "hav-YAY". In Spanish, the final syllable sounds much like the English word "air", not the English word "eh".

English speakers, unfamiliar with names beginning with 'X', sometimes pronounce "Xavier" as "ex-avier". This pronunciation is sometimes used for fictional characters, such as Charles Xavier, leader of the fictional X-Men. Ironically though this is an error compared with Spanish pronunciation of the name it is close to the original Basque place name.