girls' name ★ peaked 1982

Kristen

Gender Girl · 1% boys Rank 2025 #1,999 Trend ↓ Falling 13%

A spelling variant of Kristin, from Christina, fairly popular in the latter half of the twentieth century.

Rank 2025
#1,999
among girls · ↓716 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
106
named Kristen · -44% vs 2024
How common
1 in 16,742
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1982
9,596 babies
All-time total
220,952
#183 all-time among girls
First recorded
1938
in Social Security records

Kristen popularity over time

220,952 babies have been named Kristen since 1938, 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
1.883.755.637.518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

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 – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – – – – – –
1920s – – – – – –
1930s 20 – 20 2 – #2,356
1940s 776 20 796 80 +3880% #633
1950s 2,811 102 2,913 291 +266% #404
1960s 18,039 229 18,268 1,827 +527% #96
1970s 44,206 597 44,803 4,480 +145% #45
1980s 83,228 605 83,833 8,383 +87% #33
1990s 53,075 338 53,413 5,341 -36% #42
2000s 12,558 138 12,696 1,270 -76% #142
2010s 3,244 102 3,346 335 -74% #577
2020s (to 2025) 810 54 864 144 -57% #1,283

Where Kristen is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (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 girls Implied rank
2026 92 0.06 outside top 500
2027 89 0.06 outside top 500
2028 87 0.05 outside top 500
2029 84 0.05 outside top 500
2030 83 0.05 outside top 500

Where Kristen is most popular

Girls named Kristen per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.083 per 1,000. Strongest in Alabama, Georgia, and Texas.

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

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Kristen 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 Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Alabama 13 0.138 +67%
Georgia 31 0.136 +64%
Texas 101 0.126 +51%
Maryland 13 0.123 +48%
Florida 46 0.108 +30%
Indiana 14 0.100 +20%
Tennessee 15 0.095 +14%
New Jersey 17 0.094 +14%
New York 36 0.091 +10%
California 68 0.081 ≈ national
Virginia 13 0.076 -8%
Pennsylvania 18 0.076 -8%
North Carolina 17 0.075 -10%
Louisiana 6 0.069 -17%
Illinois 13 0.057 -32%
Michigan 6 0.033 -60%
Ohio 6 0.025 -70%
Alaska – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maine – – –
Minnesota – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
Wisconsin – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

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 Kristen

Kristen is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #1,999 in 2025 with 96 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1938, 220,952 American babies have been named Kristen. Its peak came in 1982, when 9,596 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 Kristen stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Kristen?

The median living Kristen is about 40 years old; half are between 33 and 48. An estimated 213 thousand people named Kristen are alive in the United States today.

median 40 020406080100

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

Kristen 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 96 #1,999 10 #7,985
2024 181 #1,283 8 #9,486
2023 143 #1,508 9 #8,625
2022 119 #1,747 8 #9,476
2021 134 #1,573 9 #8,555
2020 137 #1,548 10 #7,839
2019 174 #1,316 10 #7,962
2018 190 #1,230 7 #10,279
2017 221 #1,129 13 #6,524
2016 253 #1,045 13 #6,560
2015 310 #890 10 #7,807
2014 340 #815 10 #7,892
2013 389 #714 5 #13,222
2012 429 #659 13 #6,514
2011 430 #660 8 #9,244
2010 508 #577 13 #6,570
2009 566 #533 12 #7,057
2008 644 #491 13 #6,622
2007 768 #428 12 #6,897
2006 876 #372 13 #6,310
2005 984 #326 13 #6,068
2004 1,220 #264 21 #4,200
2003 1,437 #229 16 #4,943
2002 1,716 #186 14 #5,284
2001 1,991 #162 15 #5,036
2000 2,356 #142 9 #7,155
1995 5,398 #65 39 #2,125
1990 8,073 #42 55 #1,539
1985 8,445 #38 69 #1,120
1980 7,316 #39 66 #1,119
1975 4,674 #60 71 #978
1970 4,600 #83 47 #1,213
1965 1,726 #191 17 #1,964
1960 541 #415 18 #1,948
1955 230 #612 12 #2,372
1950 158 #678 7 #3,192
1945 54 #1,070 – –
1940 7 #3,684 – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Kristen

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

  1. 1 Kristen Bell Kristen Bell American actress (born 1980) Contemporary
  2. 2 Kristen Stewart Kristen Stewart American actress and director (born 1990) Contemporary
  3. 3 Kristen Wiig Kristen Wiig American actress and comedian (born 1973) Contemporary
  4. 4 Kristen Johnston Kristen Johnston American actress (b. 1967) Contemporary
  5. 5 Kristen Schaal Kristen Schaal American actress, comedian, and writer (born 1978) Contemporary
  6. 6 Kristen Connolly Kristen Connolly American actress (born 1980) Contemporary
  7. 7 Kristen Hager Kristen Hager Canadian actress (born 1983) b. 1984 · Contemporary
  8. 8 Kristen Anderson-Lopez Kristen Anderson-Lopez American songwriter (born 1972) Contemporary
  9. 9 Kristen Cloke American actress (active 1990– ) b. 1968 · Contemporary
  10. 10 Kristen Nygaard Kristen Nygaard Norwegian computer scientist and mathematician 1926–2002 · Contemporary
  11. 11 Kristen Dalton Kristen Dalton Miss USA 2009 b. 1986 · Contemporary
  12. 12 Kristen Viikmäe Estonian footballer (born 1979) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Kristen?

The median living Kristen is about 40 years old. Half of all living Kristens are between 33 and 48 years old.

How many people named Kristen are alive today?

An estimated 213 thousand people named Kristen are alive in the United States, based on 220,952 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Kristen mean?

A spelling variant of Kristin, from Christina, fairly popular in the latter half of the twentieth century.

How popular is the name Kristen in 2025?

Kristen ranked #1,999 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 96 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Kristen?

220,952 babies have been named Kristen in the United States since 1938, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Kristen most popular?

Kristen peaked in 1982, when 9,596 newborns received the name.

Is Kristen a boy or girl name?

Kristen is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Kristen rising or falling?

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

Will Kristen become more popular?

Kristen is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 83 girls named Kristen in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Kristen?

Well-known people named Kristen include Kristen Bell (actor), Kristen Stewart (actor), Kristen Wiig (actor).

Names like Kristen

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

Compare Kristen with similar names → More names starting with K →