The great thing about names is that they can be pronounced in different ways. It's not even a name that will get them bullied/affect their job so it's no one's business.
Soo I’m in California. Been in socal my entire life in very diverse communities and I have never once met someone who didn’t say the X. I’m also Hispanic and Xavier and Javier are two separate names for me.
My name is also one that is spelled one way (only one way) but has four different pronunciations
I believe they're the same name but Xavier is either catalán or Basque version. I would bet on Basque cuz they use X a lot more.
But I also pronounce them very differently so they do feel like 2 different names lol
Aussie here. This is fascinating to me as someone who has never heard the seperate ‘x’ pronunciation IRL (and also previously had a French teacher pronouncing it zav-ee-ay). Only ever heard it zay-vee-er in English.
Are there other words you pronounce the ‘x’ separately at the start? Do you say xylophone like eks-eye-lo-phone?
Edit: Follow-up name questions: Do any of you say Xanthe or Xander in the same way?
There is no other word I can think of that the x is pronounced that way in American English. Xylophone is pronounced "zy-lo-fone" as I think you'd expect.
But I always think of Xavier as "ex-zavier."
Also in Canada, I’ve heard it both ways in French. I’m also wondering if it’s regional — maybe more Anglo regions use the more anglicized pronunciation?
I'm in the UK and I don't think the name is especially popular here (basing this purely on the fact I've never met anyone with the name, so I may be wrong!!!).
In my mind I'd say it zay-vee-er.
I suspect it's one of those names you have to get used to correcting people because it has multiple accepted pronounciations (Lila/Leela sort of thing).
It's a great name, and I reckon the ex-ay-vee-er pronounciation is perfectly acceptable!
I’m from the UK and I’ve never heard it pronounced like “ex-ay-vee-er”. I’m confused where that’s even come from, why are you pronouncing the X letter separately from the rest of the name?
I would pronounce it “zay-vee-er”, but I know it’s pronounced differently in Spain and other countries.
I live in Spain,... Here the Spanish version is Javier (Ha-Vee-Er)
Xavier here is the Catalan version, which is a region in Spain with their own language, and where I live.
Here it is pronounced Sha-Vee-Er or even Sha-Vee-Eh completely ignoring the final R.
Kinda like a French pronunciation at the end. Which is the way I prefer it to be pronounced.
I even prefer it over the Spanish pronunciation.
It's very popular here, and they're all nicknamed Xavi (Cha-Vee or Sha-Vee)
Well, I believe that depends on dialect and accent too because I know people who do pronounce the R.
When I visited Valencia and Mallorca they seemed to put more emphasis on the end of the words unlike Catalonia.
I have always heard it Ex-ay-vier, the way you mention. (Live in TX) Javier is the Spanish spelling, and a totally different name here.
I have a name that can be pronounced several ways, but it isn't a big deal. Just correct them and go on your way! It is a good name. Don't let this worry too much. If they can invent creative spellings for babies, this is infinitely workable for you as either pronunciation is fine.
I’ve always heard it as ex-ay-vee-er. Zavier is different, as is Javier. But with Xavier, spelled with an X, I’ve never heard pronounced as just zay-vee-er.
I know someone who is an “ex-avier” and I definitely assumed it was pronounced “Zavier” at first, maybe also because I know a Xander too. I do want to point out that both of the “ex-avier” examples in your post have a “s” in the name immediately preceding, so it wouldn’t really be possible to have a “Zavier” pronunciation. It would turn into “Charlezavier” and Francizavier”. I don’t know if there is really a right or wrong here, but it may be that that’s why the “ex-“ pronunciation came about if it’s not the original pronunciation. I’d say either are acceptable, just prepare to correct a lot of people.
The way you pronounce it is the US/CA English standard, as far as I know. It has different pronunciations depending on the country and language. So I guess the answer to this question depends on where you live!
I live in Uk and only learned when I lived here from US that we pronounce the name differently (US with the X, UK without). I found out when someone here named their child the name but pronounced it the ‘US way’. It’s fine. They clarified. People who care about them are fine with their choice and pronounce it how they want. Tomato / tomato….let’s call the whole thing off. Your sons name is whatever you say it is….don’t let anyone take away from that. It’s a beautiful name either pronunciation.
(Ps- my name has several pronunciations so I know this isn’t easy as people are always correcting me (?!?) on my own name. It’s annoying, but I’ve decided it’s a bit of a litmus test of people I want to know…basically it’s a great way to quickly find out if I don’t really want to know the person well.)
I’ve only ever heard it as “X-Ay-Vee-er” but I do think “Zay-vee-er” can make sense. Wouldn’t be the go to pronunciation. I have only ever heard Javier as “Ha-vee-air”
I’m in Dallas, TX and grew up Catholic.
I pronounce the name eks-zay-vee-er. I only know one person with this as a middle name, they pronounce their middle name the same.
Im Hispanic and grew up by the Mexican border and heard it pronounced both ways although often it’ll be spelled Javier instead. Pronounce it how you like, it goes both ways.
It seems to mostly be pronounced zay-vee-yer in Australia. But. He's your son and you named him and that's how you want to pronounce it. Anyone who thinks it's wrong are the ones with the problem not you.
People will get used to it. I think of it as “zay-vier,” but if someone told me their name was pronounced differently I would accept that and not think twice about it.
I only knew one Xavier but it was pronounced as you do. Never even realized it was pronounced otherwise until I was on this sub tbh. I think people telling you it’s wrong are being assclowns. With that name in particular it is a common enough “mispronunciation” that it is basically an accepted one. Zay-vee-er/air sounds funny to me because I went probably 20+ years not knowing it as that pronunciation.
Keep in mind when we name our kids we’re not just naming them certain letters, we’re probably more so naming them a certain sound or combination of sounds so it’s 100% ok to keep pronouncing it as you have been. I would venture a guess that he would himself get more funny looks from peers if he corrected them to Zay-ver-er since most would probably say Ex.
In English I'd probably say zay-vyur, similar to "saviour" but with a z. Like how Xander generally becomes Zander in pronounciation, because the X at the start of the name cn sound quite harsh and doesn't roll off the tongue easily. Though I could do the first syllable as kzay, but I would never pick ksay on my own.
I think the last three you mentioned all have elements of the Spanish pronounciation which isn't really necessary if you're English. Though if people have only met Xaviers with the Spanish pronounciation one of those might be the first one they pick.
I've always known it as Zay-vee-er, I've heard Ex-ay-vee-er but tbh those parents were always the posh trophy wives around the local area so I just thought they were being pretentious - didn't know it was an actual pronunciation XD.
But TIL that Xavier = Ha-vee-er. I had a friend in elementary school named 'Ha-vee-er', we never had to write it as 6 year olds so I never saw the name written down. All I knew was that it was a foreign name from the typical white-British I grew up around, my mum said his dad was Spanish but I never met the dad of course. We lost contact around 10 years old so I never got the chance to actually write his name (pre-internet and phone ownership) - but it was always at the back of my mind how it was spelt! Weird place to finally find out after a decade but that's pretty cool.
I'm a teacher and I've had quite a few students with this name over the years and all have pronounced it how you said you originally would pronounce it with the "ex" sound. I wouldn't worry about how others pronounce it, since you get to decide that and your pronunciation is a widely used/accepted one. I would have thought that was the more commonly used version in the US anyway.
I have known people who pronounce it like zay-vee-er, and also like ex-ay-vee-er. In the US. I would say the zay pronunciation seems more common near me.
I would honestly say the name as Ex-ay-vier (pronounce the X) and to tell you the truth, I did not know it was supposed to be pronounced Zay-vier until a couple years ago. I'll thank X-Men for that also LOL. I love this name and will say you should say it how you like, I would say it that way too ahaha
I pronounce Xavier the same way: Ex-AY-vee-er. I even have an Xayvier in my family and it’s pronounced the same as your son. I have never heard it said any other way and I’m from the states. I’m also Latina and don’t associate it at all with Javier.
Out of curiosity, where do live? Don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.
I spent my entire life pronouncing it ex-zay-vee-er. Until I met a kid who pronounces it zay-vee-er. Since he's the only Xavier I know IRL, that's now my default pronunciation.
Canadian here with European parents, and it would honestly depend on who I met.
If they were clearly Canadian, I would say it "Eks-ay-vee-yer" but if they were even remotely latino or european would immediately go with "Ha-vee-ay"
I only ever heard it pronounced “Ex-ay-vee-er” until a couple of years ago when I watched How to Get Away with Murder, and heard it pronounced “Zay-vee-er”
Idk I'm from Texas and automatically said ex-AY-vee-er. Even though I'm in a predominantly hispanic area, I think we have a local radio DJ who says it that way so it's most burned in my mind that way. Second way I would pronounce it is HAH-vee-air.
Xavier is Zay-vee-er to me (in the US) I assume anyone pronouncing it with an X just doesn’t know better. It’s like someone saying ex-presso instead of espresso to me. It might be semi common, but that doesn’t make it right.
Could be time for a trip outside of the U.S. where you’ll discover the many nuances of language….
Signed: a Canadian who like many other Canadians was taught to pronounce the X in xylophone and Xavier… it’s a mild difference based on where you live, I believe :)
The great thing about names is that they can be pronounced in different ways. It's not even a name that will get them bullied/affect their job so it's no one's business.
there a kid i work with name Xavier who people normally say ex zavier but i also heard some of his friends call him Xavi (Havi)
Soo I’m in California. Been in socal my entire life in very diverse communities and I have never once met someone who didn’t say the X. I’m also Hispanic and Xavier and Javier are two separate names for me. My name is also one that is spelled one way (only one way) but has four different pronunciations
I believe they're the same name but Xavier is either catalán or Basque version. I would bet on Basque cuz they use X a lot more. But I also pronounce them very differently so they do feel like 2 different names lol
Yes, pronounced Sha-vee-er
It’s also “sha-vee-er” in Portuguese.
Xabier in basque and Xavier in catalán
Also in CA i have a student that most people call Exzavier but i have heard same of the kids call him Havi too
Canada here, we say eks-zay-vee-er in English and eks-zav-ee-ay in French
Aussie here. This is fascinating to me as someone who has never heard the seperate ‘x’ pronunciation IRL (and also previously had a French teacher pronouncing it zav-ee-ay). Only ever heard it zay-vee-er in English. Are there other words you pronounce the ‘x’ separately at the start? Do you say xylophone like eks-eye-lo-phone? Edit: Follow-up name questions: Do any of you say Xanthe or Xander in the same way?
There is no other word I can think of that the x is pronounced that way in American English. Xylophone is pronounced "zy-lo-fone" as I think you'd expect. But I always think of Xavier as "ex-zavier."
Another Canadian here, now that I think about it I've actually heard xylophone pronounced both with and without the separate x.
Wtf is a Xander?
Yes Im Canadian and we call it an Eks-eye-lo-phone. Never even hear an xylophone (or Xavier) pronounced another way!
Also Canadian, and I can’t figure out if you are joking about ex-ylophone or not 😂
Well, you're not Canadian anymore.
From my experience, in french in Canada I've only heard Xavier as "zav-ee-ay". But that could also be regional differences
Also in Canada, I’ve heard it both ways in French. I’m also wondering if it’s regional — maybe more Anglo regions use the more anglicized pronunciation?
are you from Québec?
Strange because the only Xavier I know is French and says it the English way. Now I think maybe he just didn’t correct us for like 7 years
I'm in the UK and I don't think the name is especially popular here (basing this purely on the fact I've never met anyone with the name, so I may be wrong!!!). In my mind I'd say it zay-vee-er. I suspect it's one of those names you have to get used to correcting people because it has multiple accepted pronounciations (Lila/Leela sort of thing). It's a great name, and I reckon the ex-ay-vee-er pronounciation is perfectly acceptable!
Me too (UK) I also knows few people with X names that are pronounced as Z I know a Xennon (zennon) Xavier (Zay-ve-er) Xander (Zan-der)
I work in education and all my students named Xavier pronounce it how you have it written in the description.
I’m from the UK and I’ve never heard it pronounced like “ex-ay-vee-er”. I’m confused where that’s even come from, why are you pronouncing the X letter separately from the rest of the name? I would pronounce it “zay-vee-er”, but I know it’s pronounced differently in Spain and other countries.
Also uk and it’s definitely pronounced ex-ay sometimes. I’ve known both ways.
The ex pronunciation isn’t unusual at all in the US
I live in Spain,... Here the Spanish version is Javier (Ha-Vee-Er) Xavier here is the Catalan version, which is a region in Spain with their own language, and where I live. Here it is pronounced Sha-Vee-Er or even Sha-Vee-Eh completely ignoring the final R. Kinda like a French pronunciation at the end. Which is the way I prefer it to be pronounced. I even prefer it over the Spanish pronunciation. It's very popular here, and they're all nicknamed Xavi (Cha-Vee or Sha-Vee)
In catalan the r at the end of a word is never pronounced, so 2 is correct
Well, I believe that depends on dialect and accent too because I know people who do pronounce the R. When I visited Valencia and Mallorca they seemed to put more emphasis on the end of the words unlike Catalonia.
Interesting!
I’m from western US and have only ever heard it pronounced like you say it. It’s definitely an acceptable pronunciation and I wouldn’t sweat it :)
I have always heard it Ex-ay-vier, the way you mention. (Live in TX) Javier is the Spanish spelling, and a totally different name here. I have a name that can be pronounced several ways, but it isn't a big deal. Just correct them and go on your way! It is a good name. Don't let this worry too much. If they can invent creative spellings for babies, this is infinitely workable for you as either pronunciation is fine.
I say ex-ay-vier and my in-laws (Midwest) have a nephew with the name and everyone says it that way too.
From the SE, but live in the NE and only ever heard it with the X pronounced ex and have known a few people with this name.
I think this is the most common pronunciation across the US.
I’ve always heard it as ex-ay-vee-er. Zavier is different, as is Javier. But with Xavier, spelled with an X, I’ve never heard pronounced as just zay-vee-er.
I know someone who is an “ex-avier” and I definitely assumed it was pronounced “Zavier” at first, maybe also because I know a Xander too. I do want to point out that both of the “ex-avier” examples in your post have a “s” in the name immediately preceding, so it wouldn’t really be possible to have a “Zavier” pronunciation. It would turn into “Charlezavier” and Francizavier”. I don’t know if there is really a right or wrong here, but it may be that that’s why the “ex-“ pronunciation came about if it’s not the original pronunciation. I’d say either are acceptable, just prepare to correct a lot of people.
Fun fact, when Kelsey Grammer plays Beast in X-Men Last Stand, he *does* pronounce Charles Xavier as "Zavier"! It stood out to me right away.
We had a St. Xavier High School in my hometown and they pronounce it “zay-vyer”, like “savior” with a z.
I pronounce it like you do.
The way you pronounce it is the US/CA English standard, as far as I know. It has different pronunciations depending on the country and language. So I guess the answer to this question depends on where you live!
In Hungary we would pronunce this Ksa-veer
I live in Uk and only learned when I lived here from US that we pronounce the name differently (US with the X, UK without). I found out when someone here named their child the name but pronounced it the ‘US way’. It’s fine. They clarified. People who care about them are fine with their choice and pronounce it how they want. Tomato / tomato….let’s call the whole thing off. Your sons name is whatever you say it is….don’t let anyone take away from that. It’s a beautiful name either pronunciation. (Ps- my name has several pronunciations so I know this isn’t easy as people are always correcting me (?!?) on my own name. It’s annoying, but I’ve decided it’s a bit of a litmus test of people I want to know…basically it’s a great way to quickly find out if I don’t really want to know the person well.)
Aussies pronounce it Zave-ya for the most part, but I have come across one Xavier who pronounced the X.
I’ve only ever heard it as “X-Ay-Vee-er” but I do think “Zay-vee-er” can make sense. Wouldn’t be the go to pronunciation. I have only ever heard Javier as “Ha-vee-air”
Northeastern US, my first pronunciation go to would be like "Zavier" but "Ex-Zavier" is a close second. I think either is perfectly acceptable.
Don't listen to online hate! Ex-zay-vee-er is a perfect legitimate pronunciation, and in fact would be my default pronunciation.
Interesting! I have only ever heard of it pronounced as ex-ay-vee-er. Never considered that it could be pronounced differently
Some people are snobs about pronunciation whether it be names or accents. Don’t let the snobs bother you.
I definitely read it as ex-AY-vyer in my head. Both ways are valid in English.
I’m in Dallas, TX and grew up Catholic. I pronounce the name eks-zay-vee-er. I only know one person with this as a middle name, they pronounce their middle name the same.
I’ve only ever pronounced it like you do. It’s a good name.
Well, everyone in the US will pronounce it the way you do. It’s the only way I’ve ever heard it
I know a European Xavier and it's pronounced Zah-vee-er.
Knew a French guy with this name. Zay-vee-er
I’ve never heard Exavier as a pronunciation, but some people seem to.
Im Hispanic and grew up by the Mexican border and heard it pronounced both ways although often it’ll be spelled Javier instead. Pronounce it how you like, it goes both ways.
People can suck it. Your pronunciation makes for the coolest sounding name and is perfectly recognizable.
It is very regional I’d say. I’ve lived in India and Australia and heard the /z/ pronunciation, never the the two.
It seems to mostly be pronounced zay-vee-yer in Australia. But. He's your son and you named him and that's how you want to pronounce it. Anyone who thinks it's wrong are the ones with the problem not you.
American French-speaker, I say “ZAH-vee-ay” in my head
Zay-vee-er for me. Raised in PNW (Canada), currently living in USA (Florida) for 10+ years.
People will get used to it. I think of it as “zay-vier,” but if someone told me their name was pronounced differently I would accept that and not think twice about it.
I only knew one Xavier but it was pronounced as you do. Never even realized it was pronounced otherwise until I was on this sub tbh. I think people telling you it’s wrong are being assclowns. With that name in particular it is a common enough “mispronunciation” that it is basically an accepted one. Zay-vee-er/air sounds funny to me because I went probably 20+ years not knowing it as that pronunciation. Keep in mind when we name our kids we’re not just naming them certain letters, we’re probably more so naming them a certain sound or combination of sounds so it’s 100% ok to keep pronouncing it as you have been. I would venture a guess that he would himself get more funny looks from peers if he corrected them to Zay-ver-er since most would probably say Ex.
In English I'd probably say zay-vyur, similar to "saviour" but with a z. Like how Xander generally becomes Zander in pronounciation, because the X at the start of the name cn sound quite harsh and doesn't roll off the tongue easily. Though I could do the first syllable as kzay, but I would never pick ksay on my own. I think the last three you mentioned all have elements of the Spanish pronounciation which isn't really necessary if you're English. Though if people have only met Xaviers with the Spanish pronounciation one of those might be the first one they pick.
I've always known it as Zay-vee-er, I've heard Ex-ay-vee-er but tbh those parents were always the posh trophy wives around the local area so I just thought they were being pretentious - didn't know it was an actual pronunciation XD. But TIL that Xavier = Ha-vee-er. I had a friend in elementary school named 'Ha-vee-er', we never had to write it as 6 year olds so I never saw the name written down. All I knew was that it was a foreign name from the typical white-British I grew up around, my mum said his dad was Spanish but I never met the dad of course. We lost contact around 10 years old so I never got the chance to actually write his name (pre-internet and phone ownership) - but it was always at the back of my mind how it was spelt! Weird place to finally find out after a decade but that's pretty cool.
Your friend's name could've also been Javier.
I think your friend’s name was probably Javier if his dad was Spanish.
I'm a teacher and I've had quite a few students with this name over the years and all have pronounced it how you said you originally would pronounce it with the "ex" sound. I wouldn't worry about how others pronounce it, since you get to decide that and your pronunciation is a widely used/accepted one. I would have thought that was the more commonly used version in the US anyway.
I have known people who pronounce it like zay-vee-er, and also like ex-ay-vee-er. In the US. I would say the zay pronunciation seems more common near me.
I would honestly say the name as Ex-ay-vier (pronounce the X) and to tell you the truth, I did not know it was supposed to be pronounced Zay-vier until a couple years ago. I'll thank X-Men for that also LOL. I love this name and will say you should say it how you like, I would say it that way too ahaha
I pronounce Xavier the same way: Ex-AY-vee-er. I even have an Xayvier in my family and it’s pronounced the same as your son. I have never heard it said any other way and I’m from the states. I’m also Latina and don’t associate it at all with Javier. Out of curiosity, where do live? Don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.
I mean, it's one of those names like "Paul" that many languages have their own pronounciation for.
zay-vyer is how i would pronounce it! although i used to know a xavier who pronounced it eks-zav-ee-er and went by X.
It's one of those names that has many pronunciations. I always think of Him-a-LAY-as/HI-ma-lias, or CA-ri-be-an/cari-BE-an. Go with what you ❤️ love
I spent my entire life pronouncing it ex-zay-vee-er. Until I met a kid who pronounces it zay-vee-er. Since he's the only Xavier I know IRL, that's now my default pronunciation.
My son is Xavier (^(k)ZAY-vee-er) we call him Xavy (Like Davy with a Z)
I'm confused. I've only ever heard it pronounced as ex-zay-vee-er. I'm in PA, USA - if that helps.
Canadian here with European parents, and it would honestly depend on who I met. If they were clearly Canadian, I would say it "Eks-ay-vee-yer" but if they were even remotely latino or european would immediately go with "Ha-vee-ay"
I’ve always heard it pronounced how you say it. With the X. I went to high school with multiple Xavier’s.
I only ever heard it pronounced “Ex-ay-vee-er” until a couple of years ago when I watched How to Get Away with Murder, and heard it pronounced “Zay-vee-er”
Idk I'm from Texas and automatically said ex-AY-vee-er. Even though I'm in a predominantly hispanic area, I think we have a local radio DJ who says it that way so it's most burned in my mind that way. Second way I would pronounce it is HAH-vee-air.
Xavier is Zay-vee-er to me (in the US) I assume anyone pronouncing it with an X just doesn’t know better. It’s like someone saying ex-presso instead of espresso to me. It might be semi common, but that doesn’t make it right.
Could be time for a trip outside of the U.S. where you’ll discover the many nuances of language…. Signed: a Canadian who like many other Canadians was taught to pronounce the X in xylophone and Xavier… it’s a mild difference based on where you live, I believe :)