Frequency: (820)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
Spanish: from a personal name or religious byname bestowed in honor of St. Francis Xavier (1506-52), Jesuit missionary to the Far East. He was a member of a noble family who took their name from the castle of Xabier in Navarre, where he was born. The place name Xabier is of Basque origin (see Echeverria).
GIVEN NAMES: Spanish 45%. Jose (14), Manuel (7), Carlos (6), Ernesto (6), Francisco (6), Miguel (5), Rafael (5), Ramon (5), Renato (5), Arturo (4), Domingo (4), Fernando (4); Antonio (2), Marino (2), Angelo, Dario, Franco, Lia, Lirio, Lorenzo, Nazareno, Romeo, Saturnina.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
