Christian - Origin and Meaning of the name

[ 2 syll. (c)hris-tian, ch-risti-an ] The boy name Christian is also used as a girl name, but it is much more common for boys. Its pronunciation is KRIHSCHahN ^KEY. Christian is used chiefly in the English, French, German, and Scandinavian languages, and it is derived from Latin origins. Christian has the meaning Christian, follower of Christ. Biblical name from the elements 'christianus' meaning christian ; 'christos' meaning sanctified, anointed. Christianus (Latin) is an original form of Christian. The name is derived from 'Christ', which is itself from 'christos', a Greek translation of the Hebrew for Messiah. The name has been popular in Europe since the Middle Ages. In France it was well-known from the 12th century poet Chrétien de Troyes, while in Denmark, the name has been born by ten kings since the 15th century, and by the author Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875), whose name 'Hans Christian' is a traditional Danish first name. The name Christian was first taken up by English speakers in the 17th century, enjoying a boost in popularity from the main character of the same name in John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress (1678, 1684). The name Christine (Dutch, English, French, German, and Scandinavian) is the female form of Christian.

Christian has 26 variants that are used in both English and other languages. Variants of Christian used in English include Chriztian and Kristiaan. Other English variants include the short form Chris, and the pet forms Christie, Kit, Kitt, and Kris (also used in Scandinavian).

Foreign variants of Christian include Carsten (German), Christiaan (Dutch), Cristian (Romanian), Cristiano (Italian and Portuguese), Cristián (Spanish), Karsten (German), Kersten (German), Kirsten (German), Kresten (Scandinavian), Kristen (Scandinavian), Kristian (Finnish and Scandinavian), Kristijan (Slavic), Kristjan (Estonian and Slavic), Kristján (Scandinavian), Krisztián (Hungarian), Krystian (Polish), Krystyn (Polish), and Susaidasan (Tamil). Another foreign variant is the pet form Christer (Scandinavian).

See also the related forms, Christhard (German) and Christmas (English).

Christian is very popular as a baby name for boys. The name's popularity rose from the 1930s up to the 1990s. Its usage peaked in 1996 with 0.790% of baby boys being given the name Christian. Its ranking then was #24. The baby name has since experienced a loss in popularity. In 2007, its usage was 0.634% and its ranking #22, but it was nonetheless the most popular among all boy names in its group. In 2007, Christian was more regularly used than the next most popular name, Cristian (Romanian), by 5 times. Christian has predominantly been a boy name in the past century. In 2004, Christian as a boy name outnumbered its use as a girl name by 44 times.

Baby names that sound like Christian include Cristian (Romanian), Cristián (Spanish), Kristian (Finnish and Scandinavian), Carson (English, Irish, and Scottish), Karson (English), Krashna (Indian), Kresten (Scandinavian), Krishan (Indian), Krishna (Indian), Kristen (Scandinavian), Krisztián (Hungarian), and Krystian (Polish).

^KEY: Pronunciation for Christian: K as in "key (K.IY)" ; R as in "read (R.IY.D)" ; IH as in "it (IH.T)" ; S as in "sea (S.IY)" ; CH as in "cheese (CH.IY.Z)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)"

Details of famous persons named Christian:
Actor Christian Bale, born 30 January 1974, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Wales.
Actor Christian Slater, born 18 August 1969, New York, New York.
Author Hans Christian Andersen, born April 2, 1805 - August 4, 1875, Odense, Denmark.
Fashion Designer Christian Lacroix, born Christian Marie Marc Lacroix, May 16, 1951, Arles, France.
Mathematician Christian Doppler, born 29 November 1803 - 17 March 1853, Salzburg, Austria.
Mountaineer Chris Bonington, born Christian John Storey Bonington, 6 August 1934, Hampstead, London, England.

Popularity Trend
for Christian
from 1900 to 2007

Variant Popularity Chart
for Christian
in 2007