Pascharius

The earliest known bearer of this name is the 7th-century saint Pascharius of Nantes. He was a native of the city, which is located in the cultural and historical region of Brittany in western France. This means that he was likely of Celtic origin, but a Germanic origin is also possible, as at the time Nantes was located in Neustria, the western part of the Kingdom of the Franks.

His name is either fully or partially Latin (i.e. a hybrid). In both cases, the first element is ultimately derived from the Latin noun pascha meaning "Easter" as well as "Passover". The second element can consist of the Latin adjectival suffix -arius, in which case the meaning of the name is virtually the same as that of Paschalis.

In the case of a hybrid, the second element is either of Celtic or Germanic origin. For the former, it might possibly come from Old Breton air meaning "battle, carnage", in which case the overall meaning of the name is the same as that of the Breton name Pascweten (ultimately also a hybrid). As for a Germanic origin, the most likely candidate appears to be Frankish *hari meaning "army".

Lastly, it is important to note that this name is often conflated with the older but related name Paschasius. This has been happening since the medieval period, and is at least partly due to the similarity in appearance and meaning between the two names.