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Original poster

How do you pronounce Xavier?

80 replies

BoilYerHeid · 14/02/2018 12:17

Have just seen this on another thread and as we are really struggling with boys names I'm adding it to our list.

Just wondered how you would pronounce it? I had been trying to steer clear of names with multiple pronunciations... I can think of

Zay-vee-ur (like saviour)

Or

Zah-vee-ay (French sounding)

Does that accord with others' thoughts? I have a Scottish accent btw...

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TatianaLarina · 16/02/2018 09:00

There are multiple legitimate pronunciations of Xavier given it’s a Spanish-French name. Ex ay vee er is not one of them.

That just a British mispronunciation based on ignorance.

squoosh · 16/02/2018 02:46

Surely this is very simple? The pronunciation varies across Europe. I don’t quite understand the ‘this is how I pronounce it so it’s correct GAVEL’ posts.

Yes. If ever there were a name that had multiple legitimate pronunciations it's Xavier.

T00much · 16/02/2018 00:03

Gzah-vee-ay
(French)

MistressDeeCee · 15/02/2018 21:08

Creole Caribbean so the X is pronounced as a soft Z
Ex DH is Brazilian/Angolan they pronounce the X like a J there.

It's my brother's name they couldn't be bothered to pronounce it properly at school over her so be prepared for Ex-Ayy-Vi-Ah

TatianaLarina · 15/02/2018 20:52

Where do people get the ay sound from confused?

Zayv is just an English mispronunciation.

MikeUniformMike · 15/02/2018 16:54

How about Xerxes as a middle name e.g. John Xerxes Smith.
Xerxes is pronounced Zerk-zees.

Original poster
BoilYerHeid · 15/02/2018 16:48

Thanks for all the replies.

The Catholic connection doesn't bother me at all, the multiple pronunciations does as I had ideally wanted to avoid that. DH mentioned X Men last night so some people would maybe think of that.

The surname is a particularly dull and common name so I had wanted something a bit more unusual as a first name.

Back to the drawing board! Thanks everyone.

OP posts:
pipilangstrumpf · 15/02/2018 10:20

Where do people get the ay sound from Confused?

It starts with Xav and not Xayv or even Xave!

MammieBear · 15/02/2018 09:04

Zay-vee-er

DiegoMadonna · 14/02/2018 22:25

Shav-ee-air

Like the third pronunciation on this page: pt.forvo.com/word/xavier/

Which, incidentally, offers a good insight why you should never listen to people when they say "such and such is pronounced in such and such a way in Spanish!!"

pipilangstrumpf · 14/02/2018 22:14

There is no ay sound in Xav!

pipilangstrumpf · 14/02/2018 22:14

Xsa-vee-er

MikeUniformMike · 14/02/2018 22:09

Chav-y-err pronunciation is a bit unfortunate. Might be ok in parts of Spain.

SuperBeagle · 14/02/2018 21:54

Zay-vee-er.

Like saviour with a z.

I went to school with one and this is how he pronounced it. It pissed him off when someone would call him "ex-ay-vee-er".

LemonysSnicket · 14/02/2018 21:44

X-ay-vi-uh

Like on X men

YippieKayakOtherBuckets · 14/02/2018 21:32

Never ex-ay-vee-er unless you would also play an ex-lyophone and consider your mildly racist Uncle Nobby to be an ex-enophobe.

The X-Men movies have a lot to answer for!

DwangelaForever · 14/02/2018 21:31

If you were in Spain it could also be cha-vi-er in some regions

Omgsohardtofindanewname · 14/02/2018 21:27

Zayv- yet

Or Ix ayv yer

FuckingHateRain · 14/02/2018 21:26

I have a Spanish Xavier friend who sounds like Tsavi!

Buxbaum · 14/02/2018 21:25

Surely this is very simple? The pronunciation varies across Europe. I don’t quite understand the ‘this is how I pronounce it so it’s correct GAVEL’ posts.

In France it’s zav-ee-ay.
In Spain it’s hav-ee-ay, sometimes spelt Javier.
In Anglophone countries it’s zay-vee-er, similar to ‘saviour’.

The correct French pronunciations of Catherine and David are kat-reen and da-veed but you wouldn’t use them in the UK unless you knew that the family were French.

OP, just to echo some pp - it is a pretty explicitly Catholic name. This may or may not be an issue for you.

Meemzinha · 14/02/2018 17:49

Zay vee ur is how I always hear it pronounced in the UK

Marmite27 · 14/02/2018 17:46

Zav-ee-ay

As That’s how the only person I know called that pronounces it.

TeeBee · 14/02/2018 17:42

Hav-EE--ay.

123MothergotafleA · 14/02/2018 16:20

I heard so one calling her Ex aver, sounded very clunky!!! and the other mums were trying not to catch each other's eye.

timeistight · 14/02/2018 16:15

It's perfectly proper in the UK to pronounce it Zay vee uh. Nice name, but people will assume you're Catholic, which may be an issue if you're not.