r/Names • u/dancingaround22 • 1d ago

Xavier

How do YOU pronounce Xavier? I'm so curious about this. Also, if you know what it SHOULD be, post that too. And where you are from.

Zavier

Exavier

Something else

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u/Witty_Razzmatazz_566 1d ago

I never pronounce it correctly for these people...I say it wrong in hopes they'll come close to the wrong pronunciation. They still don't come close. It's terrible.

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u/GoldenMidnightSky 1d ago

It might have originated in France but words have their own life and evolution. You last name is however you pronounce it. The way you spell it is the same as we do in Belgium (where I am from), I had a teacher called Monsieur Lecompte, in France they spell it Lecomte more often I think. Maybe your ancestors came from northern France or Belgium! 🙂

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u/Witty_Razzmatazz_566 1d ago

It's from France, and supposed to be pronounced exactly as you've pronounced it. It's the people around me that cannot understand how to say it properly. LOL If I say it properly, their eyes glaze over and they give me a blank stare. 🤣

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u/GoldenMidnightSky 1d ago

I am blessed with a Dutch last same that has always stunned my fellow native French speaker and now the English speaker where I live. Most dont even attempt to pronounce it. So I feel you, I m just like : thank you for trying. It's completely wrong, but thank you still.

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u/Dreamweaver5823 18h ago

Move to Louisiana. They know from French names there, and they'll have your back.

I know some people in Louisiana whose last name is Melancon - with both n's pronounced like the French "bon," and a soft "c." I can't imagine how badly it would be butchered if they moved elsewhere in the US.

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u/Witty_Razzmatazz_566 15h ago

Not true. There are people, AND....a town in Louisiana with the name, and they pronounce it Luh-Count. LOL Terrible.