Boy · Ancient Greek
Christopher
Say it: KRIS-tuh-fer
Meaning
Greek Christophoros, 'bearing Christ'.
Certainscholars agree on this meaning.
The legend of the giant who carried the Christ child spread the name across medieval Europe.
Its wave through time
A fashion of the 1980s
In the United States
- 2,052,438 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 1984, about 1 in 30 boys
- 6,151 babies in 2020
Through the ages
- The Early Middle Ages400 to 800
- The High and Late Middle Ages1100 to 1450
- The Renaissance1400 to 1600
- Victorian and Belle Époque1837 to 1914
- The Modern Age1880 to today
Used by
Early ChristianEnglishAmericanFrenchSpanishItalianPortugueseGermanPolishSwedishCzechGreek
The family of the name
Other spellings: Kristopher, Christofer, Kester
| French | Christophe |
|---|---|
| Spanish | Cristóbal |
| Italian | Cristoforo |
| Portuguese | Cristóvão |
| German | Christoph |
| Polish | Krzysztof |
| Swedish | Kristofer |
| Czech | Kryštof |
Famous bearers
- Saint Christopher, legendary martyr
- Christopher Columbus, navigator
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- Lives of the saints and early Christian martyrologies
- Calendars of saints and name days
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- Parish baptism registers
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.