Xavier comes from the surname of Saint Francis Xavier, the 16th-century Jesuit missionary, and goes back to the Basque place name Etxeberria, meaning "new house". Americans pronounce it ZAY-vee-er or ex-ZAY-vee-er, and the X-Men's Professor Charles Xavier has given it a modern edge. Xavier ranked number 103 in 2000, entered the top 100 in 2001 and peaked at number 68 in 2007, and in 2025 it stands at number 108.