FastNamesChristopher
Greek name meaning "Derived from Late Greek Christophoros (Χριστοφόρος), meaning 'bearing Christ' or 'Christ-bearer', formed from Christos and pherein ('to carry' or 'to bear').". Ranked 68th for boys in 2025.
Meaning and origin of Christopher
Derived from Late Greek Christophoros (Χριστοφόρος), meaning 'bearing Christ' or 'Christ-bearer', formed from Christos and pherein ('to carry' or 'to bear').
Linguistically, Christopher is classified under Greek naming traditions. It is typically pronounced "KRIS-tuh-fər".
Popularity and ranking
In official US Social Security birth records from 1880 through 2025, Christopher has been given to a total of 2,069,596 boys. It has also been given to 9,507 girls.
Peak year: Christopher reached its highest relative share among boys in 1984, when 60,021 babies received the name (33,255 per million births).
All-time best rank: 2nd place, first achieved in 1972.
Recent standing (2025): Ranked 68th with 4,748 births. Ten years earlier in 2015, it ranked 32nd (down 36 spots).
Busiest decade: More boys were named Christopher in the 1980s than in any other decade (554,863 births).
| Decade | Recorded births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 752 |
| 1890s | 668 |
| 1900s | 484 |
| 1910s | 1,960 |
| 1920s | 2,862 |
| 1930s | 2,731 |
| 1940s | 15,865 |
| 1950s | 78,333 |
| 1960s | 237,144 |
| 1970s | 475,423 |
| 1980s | 554,863 |
| 1990s | 360,287 |
| 2000s | 203,372 |
| 2010s | 102,156 |
| 2020s | 32,696 |
Source: Social Security Administration, national baby name data, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
Where Christopher is most common in the US
Accounting for when Christopher was in fashion nationally, it has been most heavily concentrated in the following states (measured against the expected rate from each state's births):
- Rhode Island: 1.4 times the national rate (9,977 births since 1910).
- Connecticut: 1.4 times the national rate (32,268 births since 1910).
- Vermont: 1.4 times the national rate (4,807 births since 1910).
- Massachusetts: 1.3 times the national rate (61,741 births since 1910).
- Delaware: 1.3 times the national rate (6,348 births since 1910).
Source: Social Security Administration, baby names by state, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a state in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
How many people have the name Christopher?
About 1,897,000 living American boys and men share the name Christopher. Additionally, an estimated 9,000 living American girls and women share the name.
The median age of an American named Christopher is 42 years old.
Estimated from Social Security Administration records (1880–2025) and official SSA cohort mortality tables.
History of the name Christopher
Christopher originated as an early Christian spiritual epithet composed of the Greek elements Christos ('anointed one') and pherein ('to bear' or 'to carry'), figuratively describing a believer who carries the presence of Christ in their heart. By the fourth century it was adopted as a personal name and became associated with Saint Christopher, a third-century martyr.
According to medieval legend popularized in the thirteenth-century Golden Legend by Jacobus de Voragine, Christopher was a giant who carried travelers across a perilous river, once unknowingly carrying the Christ Child whose miraculous weight revealed his divine identity. As the patron saint of travelers, Saint Christopher became one of the most venerated figures in medieval Europe. The name entered England with the Normans and remained in continuous use through the Tudor era, borne by playwright Christopher Marlowe.
In American records, Christopher was moderately used in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, rarely breaking into the top 100. However, in the late 1940s it began one of the most sensational climbs in demographic history. Christopher entered the national top ten in 1967 and spent an astounding 32 consecutive years in the top five from 1971 to 2002, holding the number two position nationally for more than two decades behind Michael.
Notable people named Christopher
- Christopher Marlowe (1564–1593), Playwright and poet
- Christopher Wren (1632–1723), Architect and astronomer
- Christopher Reeve (1952–2004), Actor and activist
- Christopher Walken (1943–), Actor
- Christopher Nolan (1970–), Film director
Variants and related names
Spelling variants
Diminutives and nicknames
Related names
Sources and references
- Patrick Hanks, Kate Hardcastle, Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of First Names (2006), p. 57.
- E. G. Withycombe. The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names (1977), p. 66.
- Douglas Harper. Online Etymology Dictionary. Reference link.