Zavian is a modern American variant of Xavian, itself an extension of Xavier, the name of the Jesuit missionary Saint Francis Xavier that comes from the Basque place name Etxeberri and means "new house". The Z spelling adds a sharper edge to a name that already sounded distinctive. Zavian has climbed from number 2920 in 2000 to a peak of number 1129 in 2020 and ranks 1202 in 2025.