boy's name
Javier
hah-vee-AIR
- Origin Spanish
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 3
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 110,652
the United States
#274
2025 births
Javier means the new house, and it is Basque rather than Spanish — Saint Francis Xavier was named for his family's castle at Xabier, so the name is a place that became a surname and then a first name.
- Javier is a name of Spanish origin.
- Peaked in 2001, when 2,646 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 2,648 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1917.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 3.
Javier over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1910s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1910s | 11 |
| 1920s | 155 |
| 1930s | 321 |
| 1940s | 809 |
| 1950s | 2,899 |
| 1960s | 6,453 |
| 1970s | 10,556 |
| 1980s | 14,618 |
| 1990s | 22,269 |
| 2000s | 24,702 |
| 2010s | 17,204 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 8,466 |
What Javier means
Javier means the new house. The Basque etxe, a house, joined to berri, new, names a specific castle in Navarre rather than describing a dwelling in general.
Where Javier comes from
Javier is the Spanish form of Xavier, from the Basque place Etxeberria — etxe, house, joined to berri, new. Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta was born at the castle of Xabier in Navarre in 1506 and took its name; as a co-founder of the Jesuits he carried it to India and Japan, and the name spread through the Catholic world from there. Basque is a language isolate with no known relatives, which makes Javier one of very few widely used European names with no Indo-European ancestry at all.
Javier in use
Javier peaked in the United States in 2001, when 2,646 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It now ranks 274th in the United States on 1,252 births, 2031st in England and Wales on 12 and 5307th in France, across 110,652 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track. Our records carry it from 1917.
How popular is Javier?
In 2025, Javier was given to 1,252 babies in the United States, ranking #274 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Javier is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Javier
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Javier also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Javier over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Javier
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Javier in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Javier
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Javier — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Javier
What does the name Javier mean?
The new house — the Basque etxe, house, joined to berri, new.
Is Javier Spanish or Basque?
The form is Spanish; the word is Basque, from a castle in Navarre.
Was Francis Xavier's surname Xavier?
No — he was born Francisco de Jasso and took the name of his family's castle.
Is Basque related to Spanish?
No. Basque is a language isolate with no known relatives, which makes Javier unusual among European names.
How popular is the name Javier?
In 2025, Javier was given to 1,252 babies in the United States, ranking #274 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Javier a girl's or a boy's name?
Javier is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Javier?
Javier has 3 syllables.
When was Javier most popular?
Javier peaked in 2001, when 2,646 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Javier?
Javier is usually shortened to Javi.
Is Javier a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Javier currently ranks #274 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.