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 [ 3 syll. (c)hris-top-her, ch-ristoph-er ] The boy name Christopher is pronounced as KRIHSTahFer KEY. Christopher is used mostly in English and it is of Old Greek origin. Biblical name derived from the elements 'christos' which means sanctified, anointed ; 'pherein' which means to bear, to carry, to bring. Old forms of the name include Christophoros (Old Greek) and Christophorus (Latin). The name was popular among medieval Christians as a metaphorical expression of bearing Christ in their hearts, and later on, in tribute to the 3rd-century Saint Christopher, patron saint of travellers and one of the 14 Holy Helpers. According to legend, which originated from the literal translation of the name's meaning, the saint was a huge man who safely carried the infant Christ across a river. The name was also borne by various kings of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. It was first adopted by English speakers as early as the 13th century. It was later made famous by Cristoforo Columbo (1451-1506), the Italian explorer who discovered America while in the service of Spain; he was known as Christopher Columbus in England and Cristóbal Colon in Spain. The name is sometimes used in Scotland as the equivalent of the Gaelic Crìsdean. The name Christopher is widely used; it has 55 variant forms that are used in both English and other languages. Christoper, Kriss (used in German and Latvian as well), and Kristo (used in Greek as well) are English variant forms of Christopher. Other English forms include the short forms Chris, Kris (used in German, and Scandinavian as well), and Topher, the pet forms Chip, Cris (used in Spanish as well), Kit, Kitt, and Topper, and the spelling variants Christofer (used in Czech and Russian as well), Christoffer (used in Scandinavian as well), Cristopher, Kristofer (used in Scandinavian as well), and Kristopher. Variant forms of Christopher used in other languages include the German and Russian Christof, the German Christoff, the Italian Christoforo, the German Christoforus, the German Christoph, the French Christophe, the Spanish Christóbal, the Spanish Crisóforo, the Spanish Cristi, the Spanish Cristo, the Spanish Cristobal, the Romanian Cristofor, the Italian Cristoforo, the Spanish Criston, the Spanish Cristos, the Portuguese Cristovao, the Catalan Cristòfol, the Spanish Cristóbal, the Portuguese Cristóvão, the Irish Críostóir, the Slavic Hristo, the Scottish Kester, the Latvian Kristaps, the Czech, Hungarian, and Scandinavian Kristof, the Scandinavian Kristoff, the Scandinavian Kristoffer, the Scandinavian Kristofor, the Hungarian Kristóf, the Latvian Krisus, the Czech Krystof, the Polish Krysztof, the Polish Krzysztof, the German Stoffel, the Spanish Tobal, and the Spanish Tobalito. The short form Risto (Finnish and Slavic), and the pet forms Christie (Irish and Scottish), Christy (Irish and Scottish), and Crystal (Scottish) are other foreign variants. See also the related form, the Scottish Crìsdean. Christopher is a very popular baby name for boys. The name increased in popularity from the 1930s up to the 1980s. At the peak of its usage in 1984, 3.205% of baby boys were named Christopher. Its ranking then was #2. The baby name has since slipped in popularity. In 2008, its usage was 0.827% and its ranking #9, but it was nevertheless the most popular out of all boy names in its group. In 2008, Christopher was more widely used than the 2nd most popular name, the English Chris, by 19 times. The name Christopher has been predominantly given to boys, though it has also been used as a girl name in the past century. In 1990, boys named Christopher outnumbered girls by 265 times. Baby names that sound like Christopher include the English and Scandinavian Christoffer, the English Cristopher, the Scandinavian Kristoffer, the English Kristopher, the Czech, English, and Russian Christofer, the English Christoper, the Romanian Cristofor, the English and Scandinavian Kristofer, the Scandinavian Kristofor, the Italian Christoforo, and the Italian Cristoforo. Details of famous persons named Christopher: KEY: Pronunciation for Christopher: 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)" ; T as in "tea (T.IY)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)" ; F as in "fee (F.IY)" ; ER as in "hurt (HH.ER.T)"   |
