Javier
Javier was the 274th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 1,252 babies. Its best year was 1998, when it ranked 149th; the most babies were born in 2001 (2,637). Over the last ten years it has moved down 48 places. More babies were named Javier in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Meaning new house (Basque place name) · Basque, Spanish
Say it hah-VYAIR /hɑˈvjɛr/
- Rank in 2025
- #274 boys, down 24 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 1,252boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20012,637 babies
- Total since 1880
- 108,463babies recorded
What does the name Javier mean?
Javier is the Spanish form of Xavier, from the surname of the 16th-century Jesuit missionary Saint Francis Xavier, who took it from his family's castle at Javier (Xabier) in Navarre. Wikipedia explains that the place name is Basque, from etxe berri, 'new house'. Catholic families named sons after the saint, so Javier became a common Spanish given name. Javi is its usual short form.
etxe (Basque, “house”)berri (Basque, “new”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Xavier, Xabier, Javi, Saverio.
See also: names from places.
Sources for this meaning
- Wikipedia, 'Javier (name)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wiktionary, entry 'Javier', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wikipedia, 'Xavier (given name)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
Nicknames for Javier
The usual nicknames for Javier are Javi. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Javier in the last five years, 4 were named Javi, against fewer than 1 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Javi | Traditional | #2,370 | 312 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Javiers go by each one.
Javier popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 494 since 1963.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #274 | 1,252 |
| 2020 | #250 | 1,407 |
| 2010 | #190 | 1,952 |
| 2000 | #155 | 2,493 |
| 1990 | #157 | 1,983 |
| 1980 | #186 | 1,307 |
| 1970 | #253 | 912 |
| 1960 | #355 | 482 |
| 1950 | #440 | 228 |
| 1940 | #934 | 47 |
| 1930 | #1,075 | 42 |
| 1920 | #3,642 | 7 |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Javier, counting every spelling?
Javier has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #286 for boys in 2025, against #274 on the official list, because Kash/Cash/Cache and Colson/Kolson/Colsen and Derek/Derrick/Dereck move ahead once their spellings are combined.
How many kids will share the name Javier?
1,252 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Javier (0.35 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Javier born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 7 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Javier.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Javier?
About 101,700 people born in the US named Javier are alive today, with a median age of 27; half are between 16 and 40. That makes Javier mostly worn by children and young adults.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Javier by state
How common Javier was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in New Mexico (2.7×), Arizona (2.4×), Texas (2.1×), Nevada (2.1×), California (1.9×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Mississippi, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Javier: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Javier, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Javier · Sibling names for Javier
Questions about the name Javier
What does Javier mean?
Javier means “new house (Basque place name)” (Basque, Spanish origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Javier?
Javier was the 274th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 1,252 babies. Its best year was 1998, when it ranked 149th; the most babies were born in 2001 (2,637). Over the last ten years it has moved down 48 places. More babies were named Javier in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Is Javier a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Javier in the US.
Where is Javier most popular?
In 2021–2025, Javier was most common in New Mexico (2.19 per 1,000 boys), followed by Arizona and Texas.