Xavier Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Xavier last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Xavier last name
Meaning of the Xavier last name: new house. Xavier is a Portuguese surname from the Basque place name Etxeberri, "new house", via the castle of Javier in Navarre. Saint Francis Xavier made the name famous. As a last name it is common in Portugal, Brazil and Goa. Missionaries spread the given name across Asia from the sixteenth century.
Arms associated with the Xavier name
In Portugal and Brazil a coat of arms often goes with a family name, and heraldry associated with the Xavier surname follows that custom.
Get your full Xavier family history
This is only a glimpse of the Xavier story. The full Xavier history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted Xavier coat of arms. Get the full Xavier report.
Xavier name FAQ
What does the Xavier name mean?
New house. Common variants include Javier, Chavier.
Where does the Xavier surname come from?
It originates in Portugal, and is also found in Brazil, the United States and Angola.
Is there a Xavier coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Xavier coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Sources: José Pedro Machado, Dicionário Onomástico Etimológico da LÃngua Portuguesa (Lisboa, 1984); Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford).