ninan.org

Christopher

Boys' name · Late 20th-century perennial

Living in the US
~1,914,800 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#68 among boys
Births in 2025
4,748 2,079,103 since 1880
Typical age
41 years, median

Christopher popularity over time

Christopher rank by birth year, 1880–2025Christopher ranked #142 in 1880 and #68 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #2, in 1972.#10#100#68best #2 in 197218901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

1984 is the peak year for Christopher, with 60,411 births. It is present from 1880, the first year of the record. Christopher has spent 77 years inside the national top 100.

In 2025 it ranked #68 with 4,748 births. Over ten years the count has fallen 52%.

Babies named Christopher per yearPeaks at 60,411 births in 1984.60,411 in 1984018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Christopher?

About 1,914,800 people named Christopher are alive in the United States today. SSA has recorded 2,079,103 births under the name since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Christopher?

Half of living Christophers are older than 41, half younger. Most living bearers were born in the 1980s. By the site’s era rules that makes Christopher a late 20th-century perennial name.

Your Christopher

Ages of living people named ChristopherHalf of living Christophers are older than 41 and half younger.median 41020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Christopher is most common

Delaware uses the name 2.1× as often as the country as a whole. Rhode Island, District of Columbia and Mississippi follow.

Where Christopher is used more than average5 states use the name Christopher more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: 2.0× the national rateRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: 2.1× the national rateDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: 1.8× the national rateNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: 1.9× the national rateDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: 1.9× the national rateMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Christopher is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Delaware 214 2.1×
Rhode Island 230 2.0×
District of Columbia 227 1.9×
Mississippi 772 1.9×
New Mexico 417 1.8×

Christopher in England and Wales

In England and Wales, Christopher ranked #203 in 2025 on 247 births.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Christopher comes from

From Late Latin Christophorus, from Koine Greek Χρῑστόφορος (“carrier of Christ”), from Ancient Greek Χριστός (“Christ”) + φόρος (“carrier, bearer”), from φέρειν (“to carry, to bear”) + -ος (“-er: forming agent nouns”), from the legend of Saint Christopher carrying the infant Jesus across a river.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Christopher

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Christopher Lee English actor and singer 1922–2015 113
Christopher Nolan English and American filmmaker 1970 107
Christopher Plummer Canadian actor 1929–2021 104
Christopher Marlowe English dramatist, poet and translator 1564–1593 102
Christopher Wren English architect 1632–1723 85
Christopher Hitchens English American author and journalist 1949–2011 81
Christopher Reeve American actor 1952–2004 78
Christopher Walken American actor 1943 75
Photo credits (7)

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/christopher.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).