boys' name ★ peaked 1984

Christopher

Meaning carrier of Christ Gender Boy Rank 2025 #68 Trend ↓ Falling 24%

From Late Latin Christophorus, from Koine Greek Χρῑστόφορος (Khrīstóphoros, “carrier of Christ”), from Ancient Greek Χριστός (Khristós, “Christ”) + φόρος (phóros…

Rank 2025
#68
among boys · ↓7 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
4,748
named Christopher · -7% vs 2024
How common
1 in 360
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1984
60,411 babies
All-time total
2,079,103
#11 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Christopher popularity over time

2,079,103 babies have been named Christopher since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
1020304018801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 752 752 75 – #142
1890s – 668 668 67 -11% #157
1900s – 484 484 48 -28% #260
1910s – 1,960 1,960 196 +305% #289
1920s – 2,862 2,862 286 +46% #332
1930s 13 2,731 2,744 274 -4% #292
1940s 199 15,865 16,064 1,606 +485% #81
1950s 322 78,333 78,655 7,866 +390% #35
1960s 933 237,144 238,077 23,808 +203% #7
1970s 2,768 475,423 478,191 47,819 +101% #2
1980s 3,640 554,863 558,503 55,850 +17% #2
1990s 1,047 360,287 361,334 36,133 -35% #2
2000s 431 203,372 203,803 20,380 -44% #5
2010s 121 102,156 102,277 10,228 -50% #13
2020s (to 2025) 33 32,696 32,729 5,455 -47% #47

Where Christopher is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 4,533 2.65 #73
2027 4,357 2.55 #76
2028 4,213 2.47 #78
2029 4,095 2.40 #80
2030 3,997 2.34 #81

Where Christopher is most popular

Boys named Christopher per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 3.07 per 1,000. Strongest in Rhode Island, Mississippi, and District of Columbia.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Christopher born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Rhode Island 93 5.70 +86%
Mississippi 319 5.61 +83%
District of Columbia 80 5.42 +77%
Delaware 81 5.34 +74%
New Mexico 176 5.34 +74%
Connecticut 347 5.13 +67%
New Jersey 1,010 5.02 +64%
South Carolina 487 4.71 +54%
Alabama 504 4.61 +50%
Alaska 54 4.53 +48%
Maryland 537 4.50 +47%
Georgia 1,080 4.26 +39%
Florida 1,993 4.21 +37%
Massachusetts 576 4.19 +37%
Virginia 790 4.16 +36%
Arkansas 261 4.12 +35%
Wyoming 23 3.98 +30%
Nevada 226 3.96 +29%
Texas 3,488 3.96 +29%
New Hampshire 87 3.92 +28%
New York 1,661 3.84 +25%
Louisiana 382 3.73 +22%
Tennessee 663 3.67 +20%
Kentucky 364 3.63 +18%
North Carolina 906 3.55 +16%
Arizona 563 3.44 +12%
California 3,143 3.44 +12%
Pennsylvania 878 3.31 +8%
West Virginia 106 3.25 +6%
Oklahoma 275 3.11 ≈ national
Illinois 760 2.97 ≈ national
Michigan 593 2.90 -6%
Colorado 371 2.87 -6%
Vermont 18 2.87 -7%
Ohio 757 2.86 -7%
Kansas 192 2.80 -9%
Nebraska 119 2.74 -11%
Indiana 438 2.73 -11%
Missouri 371 2.68 -13%
Oregon 199 2.62 -14%
Maine 50 2.58 -16%
Utah 229 2.40 -22%
Idaho 95 2.32 -24%
Montana 40 2.27 -26%
Washington 358 2.19 -29%
Iowa 149 2.16 -30%
Wisconsin 244 2.06 -33%
South Dakota 38 2.04 -33%
North Dakota 31 1.82 -41%
Minnesota 219 1.79 -42%
Hawaii 19 1.22 -60%

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Christopher

Christopher is a top-100 name for boys in the United States, ranked #68 in 2025 with 4,748 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 2,079,103 American babies have been named Christopher. Its peak came in 1984, when 60,411 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1980s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Christopher stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Christopher?

The median living Christopher is about 41 years old; half are between 31 and 51. An estimated 1.9 million people named Christopher are alive in the United States today.

median 41 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Christopher year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 – – 4,748 #68
2024 – – 5,082 #61
2023 6 #13,805 5,198 #55
2022 5 #15,820 5,589 #55
2021 11 #9,099 5,863 #52
2020 11 #9,073 6,216 #47
2019 5 #16,062 7,022 #44
2018 9 #10,752 7,341 #42
2017 – – 8,319 #39
2016 13 #8,495 9,106 #36
2015 15 #7,708 9,853 #32
2014 16 #7,387 10,390 #30
2013 15 #7,843 10,878 #26
2012 19 #6,663 11,921 #23
2011 18 #6,922 13,027 #20
2010 11 #9,929 14,299 #13
2009 23 #5,932 16,368 #10
2008 39 #4,025 17,966 #9
2007 25 #5,561 20,030 #6
2006 39 #3,869 19,688 #8
2005 47 #3,274 19,174 #10
2004 97 #1,928 19,636 #10
2003 42 #3,424 20,753 #9
2002 29 #4,298 21,689 #8
2001 40 #3,380 23,132 #5
2000 50 #2,868 24,936 #5
1995 104 #1,510 32,679 #3
1990 188 #981 52,362 #2
1985 415 #492 59,609 #2
1980 312 #594 49,079 #2
1975 302 #560 46,575 #3
1970 217 #710 41,747 #6
1965 83 #1,179 24,640 #18
1960 51 #1,564 15,361 #29
1955 28 #2,028 7,922 #49
1950 31 #1,685 4,835 #72
1945 27 #1,599 1,138 #160
1940 7 #3,566 499 #241
1935 – – 269 #334
1930 – – 267 #344
1925 – – 286 #345
1920 – – 293 #339
1915 – – 242 #341
1910 – – 70 #296
1905 – – 50 #280
1900 – – 55 #278
1895 – – 60 #227
1890 – – 66 #201
1885 – – 71 #183
1880 – – 95 #142

Famous people named Christopher

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Christopher Nolan Christopher Nolan British and American filmmaker (born 1970) Contemporary
  2. 2 Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus Italian navigator and explorer (1451–1506) Medieval
  3. 3 Christopher Lee Christopher Lee English actor and singer (1922–2015) Contemporary
  4. 4 Christopher Reeve Christopher Reeve American actor and activist (1952–2004) Contemporary
  5. 5 Christopher Lloyd Christopher Lloyd American actor (born 1938) Contemporary
  6. 6 Christopher Walken Christopher Walken American actor (born 1943) Contemporary
  7. 7 Christopher Plummer Christopher Plummer Canadian actor (1929–2021) Contemporary
  8. 8 Christopher Hitchens Journalist, United Kingdom 1949–2011 · Contemporary
  9. 9 Christopher Meloni Actor, United States b. 1961 · Contemporary
  10. 10 Christopher Lambert Christopher Lambert American actor (born 1957) Contemporary
  11. 11 Christopher Cross Christopher Cross American singer-songwriter (born 1951) Contemporary
  12. 12 Christopher Marlowe Christopher Marlowe English playwright and poet (1564–1593) 16th century
  13. 13 Christopher Tolkien Christopher Tolkien British book editor (1924–2020) Contemporary
  14. 14 Christopher Atkins Christopher Atkins American actor (born 1961) Contemporary
  15. 15 Christopher Robin Milne Writer, United Kingdom 1920–1996 · Contemporary
  16. 16 Christopher Isherwood Christopher Isherwood English and American novelist (1904–1986) Contemporary
  17. 17 Christopher Wren Christopher Wren English architect (1632–1723) 17th century
  18. 18 Christopher Doyle Christopher Doyle Australian cinematographer (born 1952) Contemporary
  19. 19 Christopher of Bavaria Christopher of Bavaria Scandinavian king under the Kalmar Union (1416–1448) Medieval
  20. 20 Christopher Alexander Christopher Alexander British-American architect (1936–2022) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Christopher, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Christopher?

The median living Christopher is about 41 years old. Half of all living Christophers are between 31 and 51 years old.

How many people named Christopher are alive today?

An estimated 1.9 million people named Christopher are alive in the United States, based on 2,079,103 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Christopher mean?

From Late Latin Christophorus, from Koine Greek Χρῑστόφορος (Khrīstóphoros, “carrier of Christ”), from Ancient Greek Χριστός (Khristós, “Christ”) + φόρος (phóros, “carrier, bearer”), from φέρειν (phérein, “to carry, to bear”) +…

How popular is the name Christopher in 2025?

Christopher ranked #68 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 4,748 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Christopher?

2,079,103 babies have been named Christopher in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Christopher most popular?

Christopher peaked in 1984, when 60,411 newborns received the name.

Is Christopher a boy or girl name?

Christopher is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Christopher rising or falling?

Christopher is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Christopher become more popular?

Christopher is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 3,997 boys named Christopher in 2030, which would rank around #81. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Christopher?

Well-known people named Christopher include Christopher Nolan (film director), Christopher Columbus (explorer), Christopher Lee (actor).

Names like Christopher

Names that sound and feel close to Christopher: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Christopher with similar names → More names starting with C →