Nameling

Christian

Gender
Boy
Say it
KRIS-chan
Origin
Greek
UK rank, 2025
#393 for boys
US rank, 2025
#96 for boys

Christian is a boys' name of Greek origin, meaning “follower of Christ”. In 2025 it ranked 393rd for boys in the UK (119 babies) and 96th for boys in the US (3,641 babies).

What does Christian mean?

Greek: from Latin Christianus, from Greek christos

“follower of Christ”

Christian is the hero of John Bunyan's allegory The Pilgrim's Progress (1678).

More on Wiktionary.

Is Christian a girl's or a boy's name?

Christian is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 119 boys in the UK and 27 girls and 3,641 boys in the US.

How popular is Christian in the UK?

Rank in 2025
#393among boys
Babies in 2025
119about 1 in 2,500 boys
Five-year trend
Fallingdown 43% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1%chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 119 boys in the UK were named Christian, making it the 393rd most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 242nd. Its busiest year was 1996, with 636 boys.

It has been given to fewer boys each year for the last 10 years. 2025 had the fewest boys named Christian since the records began in 1996.

Half of all the boys named Christian in the UK since 1996 were born between 2000 and 2013. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier boys aren't counted.

In 2025, 123 boys in the UK were given Christian or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #385, up from #393 for this spelling alone.

Among boys in 2025, it was 393rd in England and Wales, 441st in Scotland and 253rd in Northern Ireland.

In the England and Wales top 100 for boys, which the ONS has published every ten years since 1904: 1974 (#49) and 1994 (#92).

1996Busiest: 636 in 19962025
Christian in the UK, year by year
YearBoysRank
2025119#393
2024120#393
2023170#299
2022185#281
2021205#267
2020227#242
2019244#240
2018249#234
2017269#225
2016274#226
2015294#217
2014272#230
2013273#219
2012263#223
2011290#207
2010348#179
2009368#168
2008416#152
2007469#135
2006453#136
2005517#124
2004445#134
2003428#132
2002443#124
2001429#123
2000469#118
1999503#114
1998607#100
1997587#98
1996636#94

How popular is Christian in the US?

Rank in 2025
#96among boys
Babies in 2025
3,641about 1 in 470 boys
Five-year trend
Fallingdown 31% in five years
Same name in a class
2.9%chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 3,641 boys in the US were named Christian, making it the 96th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 62nd. Its busiest year was 2000, with 16,059 boys. 27 girls were also named Christian in 2025 (4,877th for girls).

2025 had fewer boys named Christian than any year since 1987.

Half of all the boys named Christian in the US since 1880 were born between 1993 and 2009, the years shaded on the chart below.

1880Busiest: 16,059 in 20002025
Christian in the US, year by year
YearBoysRank
20253,641#96
20244,272#77
20234,158#77
20224,486#73
20214,636#71
20205,104#62
20195,781#57
20186,582#54
20177,025#52
20167,674#46
20158,220#43
20148,480#42
20139,352#35
20129,640#33
201110,334#30
201011,110#29
200912,657#23
200813,069#23
200714,063#22
200614,487#21
200514,210#22
200413,926#24
200313,908#25
200214,597#24
200115,457#24
200016,059#22
199914,783#25
199814,522#26
199715,059#25
199615,824#24
199513,813#28
199411,987#35
199311,891#35
199211,953#35
19919,447#48
19906,786#60
19894,625#78
19883,937#86
19873,324#90
19863,214#89
19852,915#101
19842,726#104
19832,419#112
19822,576#114
19812,235#121
19802,318#118
19792,262#120
19782,208#116
19772,294#116
19762,268#112
19752,463#103
19742,490#103
19732,693#97
19722,962#96
19712,639#122
19702,623#127
19692,194#140
19681,780#151
19671,320#186
1966888#237
1965730#275
1964711#294
1963672#299
1962650#305
1961606#319
1960662#301
1959581#323
1958427#377
1957327#426
1956389#381
1955350#384
1954352#378
1953338#372
1952319#384
1951272#413
1950268#411
1949218#452
1948202#468
1947187#492
1946182#477
1945141#503
1944135#524
1943135#542
1942108#606
1941122#532
194099#597
193994#601
193899#590
193785#637
193691#611
193571#725
193492#623
193377#668
193286#657
193187#633
193094#632
192993#633
1928114#578
1927112#584
1926113#585
1925105#612
1924125#568
1923116#582
1922160#489
1921132#543
1920143#507
1919125#531
1918155#474
1917149#466
1916154#452
1915151#445
1914122#437
191391#451
191291#404
191141#457
191040#430
190929#473
190829#452
190732#396
190633#363
190526#421
190430#368
190336#312
190233#337
190138#277
190035#375
189942#257
189830#350
189739#288
189636#312
189553#245
189440#278
189339#279
189242#279
189134#277
189049#237
188951#226
188851#243
188747#230
188633#298
188555#217
188454#231
188350#215
188249#238
188153#208
188043#252

Nicknames for Christian

Names like Christian

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Jason Nathan Adam Matthew Luke Alexander Alex Benjamin Damian Andrew Nicholas Jordan

Other spellings of Christian

Christiaan Khristian Christain

Names related to Christian

Kristian Cristian Cristiano Christiano Christan Cristhian Christen Christon

More Greek names

Luca Theodore Sophia George Theo Lucas Sofia Sebastian Penelope Phoebe Margot Chloe Sophie Zoe Iris Maisie

Every Greek name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Christian: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/christian, updated 20 October 2026.