Xavier

Proper noun

Xavier

1. A male given name from Spanish [in turn from Basque].
   • "Full name please." "Maurice Xavier Wu." "Where did you get the Xavier?" "My father was a missionary," he said.1976, Don DeLillo, Ratner's Star, Knopf, →ISBN, page 337
   • '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...2007, Sharon Kendrick, The Sheikh's English Bride, Harlequin, →ISBN, page 60
2. A surname from Spanish [in turn from Basque], found chiefly among people of Spanish and Portuguese descent.
   • A plaque commemorating the memory of British Rail guard Asquith Xavier, who broke the colour bar at Euston station in 1966, was unveiled at Chatham station on September 24.2020 October 7, “Network News: Plaque at Chatham honours colour bar pioneer”, in Rail, page 26
3. Any of various notable people with this name as given name or surname, especially Saint Francis Xavier, a Spanish Catholic saint and missionary (1506–1552).