2000
#12,533
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,268
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.84
Rare Last name
Xavier
A Basque surname meaning "new house" or "bright" and referring to the place of a family dwelling.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,329 Americans carry the last name Xavier. That puts it at #8,400 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.26 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 79,176 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Xavier surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Xavier with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.3K
1 in 79,176
Census rank
#8,400
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,775 bearers of the surname Xavier in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.26 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8400th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Xavier, the largest self-reported group is White at 43.3%. The next largest groups are Black (21.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (20.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Xavier
The surname Xavier originates from the Basque region of northern Spain and southern France, dating back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Basque word "etxe-berri," which translates to "new house" or "newly built house."
The name first appeared in historical records around the 13th century, when it was commonly spelled as "Echeverria" or "Echeverri." The earliest known bearer of this surname was Juan de Echeverria, a nobleman from the town of Azpeitia in the Basque Country, mentioned in documents from 1265.
In the 15th century, the variant spelling "Xavier" emerged, likely influenced by the French pronunciation of the name. This version became particularly associated with the prominent Xavier family from the town of Javier in Navarre, Spain.
One of the most notable historical figures bearing this surname was St. Francis Xavier, a Navarrese Catholic missionary and co-founder of the Jesuit order. Born in 1506 as Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta, he adopted the surname Xavier after the family's ancestral home in Javier. St. Francis Xavier played a crucial role in the Catholic missionary efforts in Asia, particularly in India and Japan, during the 16th century.
Another prominent bearer of the Xavier name was Jerónimo Xavier, a Spanish painter and architect who lived from 1549 to 1608. He was renowned for his contributions to the Renaissance architectural style in Spain and worked on notable projects such as the Monastery of El Escorial.
In the 17th century, the Xavier surname gained recognition through Miguel Xavier de Idiáquez, a Spanish diplomat and statesman who served as the Secretary of State for King Philip III of Spain from 1599 to 1624.
During the colonial era, the Xavier surname spread to various parts of the world, including Latin America, where descendants of Spanish settlers carried the name. One notable figure was José María Xavier de Idiáquez, a Spanish colonial administrator who served as the Governor of the Captaincy General of Guatemala from 1801 to 1811.
In the field of literature, the French writer and philosopher François Xavier de Maistre (1763-1852) is remembered for his influential works, such as "Voyage autour de ma chambre" (Voyage Around My Room) and "Les Soirées de Saint-Pétersbourg" (The St. Petersburg Dialogues).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Xavier
Among Census respondents with the surname Xavier, the largest self-reported group is White at 43.3%. The next largest groups are Black (21.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (20.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Xavier bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Xavier surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White43.3% · 1,634
- Black or African American21.1% · 795
- Asian and Pacific Islander20.0% · 755
- Hispanic or Latino9.3% · 351
- Two or more races5.5% · 209
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 31
Timeline
Historical Census data for Xavier
Xavier appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#9,638
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,367
+1,099 bearers (+48.5%)
Per 100,000 1.14
Rank movement Up 2,895 places
2020
#8,400
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,775
+408 bearers (+12.1%)
Per 100,000 1.26
Rank movement Up 1,238 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,533 | 2,268 | 0.84 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,638 | 3,367 | 1.14 | +1,099 bearers (+48.5%) | Up 2,895 places |
| 2020 | #8,400 | 3,775 | 1.26 | +408 bearers (+12.1%) | Up 1,238 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Xavier surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #9,638 | #8,400 | 12.8% |
| Count | 3,367 | 3,775 | 12.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.14 | 1.26 | 10.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Xavier bearers went from 3,367 to 3,775 (+12.1% change). The surname moved up 1,238 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,638 to #8,400.
FAQ
Xavier surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Xavier?
Name Census estimates that about 4,329 living Americans carry the surname Xavier. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 79,176 residents.
How common is Xavier?
Xavier ranks #8,400 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.26 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,775 people with the surname Xavier. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,329), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.26 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.26 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Xavier.
Has Xavier become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Xavier went from 3,367 recorded bearers to 3,775. That is an increase of 408 (+12.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,638 to #8,400.
What does the Census say about the background of Xavier?
Among Census respondents with the surname Xavier, the largest self-reported group is White at 43.3%. The next largest groups are Black (21.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (20.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Xavier in the 2020 Census, accounting for 43.3% (1,634 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Xavier appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (43.3%), Black (21.1%), Asian/Pacific Islander (20.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Xavier (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Xavier mean?
A Basque surname meaning "new house" or "bright" and referring to the place of a family dwelling. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Xavier (1.26 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Xavier?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Xavier at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.