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Xavier pronunciation - ig-zavier, zavier, or other?
How do you pronounce Xavier? Are there certain pronunciations you like or dislike? Do you think it would be confusing? And what do you think of the name in general?
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I have a young relative so named, his pronounciation is ig-sav-ee-er. I kind of prefer the Spanish Hav-ee-air, but that's not going to happen where I live. Actually,the "ig-sav-ee-er" pronounciation is easily recognized where I (and my young relly) live, due to a local university, Saint Francis Xavier.And of course, the saint himself, Saint Francis Xavier.
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Either savier or EKSavier. They sound close to me, and the only Xavier I've heard of around me is a parochial school, so as long as everyone understands you're saying Xavier, it doesn't matter. It reminds me of the school or Xavier Roberts of Cabbage Patch Dolls fame.
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I say it "ZAYV-yer." The "ex-AYV-yer" pronunciation bothers me. I don't think it would be too confusing, though- I think people are generally aware there are two common pronunciations for it. Personally, I really like this name. I think it's handsome and just striking enough to attract a little attention.
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I pronounce it like "savior" with a "z" (ZAY-vyər). The ig-zavier / ex-zavier pronunciations sound really ignorant, IMO.

This message was edited 9/19/2012, 4:39 PM

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I pronounce this name hav-ee-AIR. I absolutely cannot stand hearing ex-ay-vee-er. This sounds illiterate to me.With a Z pronunciation, I can tolerate it.Yes, I think this is a name that can be confusing, because there seem to be so many pronunciations. And I would guess that there is a fair percentage of the population that has never heard of the name, and would be completely stumped when it came to any pronunciation at all.
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I've never heard the "ig" sound pronounced, I use, and have only heard a short "e" sound, and it's an "ex" blended into a "z", not exactly a "g" sound in there, but really close. Also, it's a four-syllable name for me, and most of the time when I hear it, "ex-ZAY-vee-er". Occasionally, I've heard "ex-ZAY-vyer".ETA: I say ZAY-vee-er" for Zavier. I generally assume Xavier is meant to have the "X" sound. If the "Z" sound is prefered, Zavier makes much more sense to me.

This message was edited 9/19/2012, 11:50 AM

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ZAYV-yer is the pronunciation I use. Ig-zayv-yer isn't really correct. You aren't supposed to pronounce the X as the letter, just the sound of it.I love the name. I'd use it on my own son. I wouldn't worry about mispronunciation. I think it's easy enough to correct.
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I predominantly pronounce it Ig-Zavier, but will occasionally use Zavier. I prefer the first.Personally, it has always seemed a little ornate and pretentious in appearance; as if the parents are trying too hard. It's very overrated, and extremely overused.
It certainly is not as bad as some self-create abominations, but I wouldn't normally choose it. Due to it being professional and steady, I can't condemn it entirely.- Francesca
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I say ig-zavier. I don't mind it either way. I think people might not remember which pronunciation you prefer (if that's what you mean by confusing), but there isn't really a huge difference so I wouldn't worry about it unless you really dislike one pronunciation.
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ZAY-vee-er
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I pronounce it ZAYV-yer. I don't mind ig-ZAY-vyər, but I prefer ZAYV-yer by far. I have heard it pronounced ZAYV-yer the majority of the time, but I have also heard ig-ZAY-vyər. I don't think that either one would be all that problematic as both seem to be widely accepted pronunciations.
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I pronounce it 'zay-vee-er', I don't like 'ex-ay-vee-er' at all, but I don't mind 'za-VYAY.'
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I've only ever heard za VYAY, and it's the only one I like.
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The only one I have ever heard, and so used, is EX-zayv-yer. If it's spelt Zavier then we miss out the EX.
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The only pronunciation I like is the French one (za-VYAY). In fact I disliked this name until I heard that pronunciation. In English, ZAY-vyer is what I'd prefer, but I've only ever heard people say ig-ZAY-vyer.
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I pronounce it SAH-vi-ehr. I'm not very fond of X names on the whole, so I can't say I like Xavier, but it's OK. Much better than mispellyngks like Xzayvier...
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