Christen
Christen is given to both girls and boys: 10 girls and 10 boys were given it in 2025 (#9,588 among girls’ names and #7,771 among boys’, #10,346 among all names counting both); 13,706 Americans have been recorded with it since 1910 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 12,800 Americans named Christen and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (94% of everyone recorded); the median is 40 years old and half are between 31 and 46.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Christen by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Christen mean?
Wiktionary, Danish section
Christen is “a male given name, variant of Christian”
Meaning: Wiktionary, Danish section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Christen?
#9,588 among girls’ names, 2025
Christen fell from #4,242 in 2015 to #9,588 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 19.0 to 6.2 per million.
601 babies in 1982, the peak
Christen peaked in 1982, when 601 babies were given it (569 girls, #405 among girls’ names). The 20 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 3% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 10 | #9,588 | 10 | #7,771 |
| 2024 | 9 | #10,448 | 9 | #8,439 |
| 2023 | 11 | #9,107 | 14 | #6,277 |
| 2022 | 11 | #9,179 | 14 | #6,206 |
| 2021 | 10 | #9,703 | 17 | #5,372 |
| 2020 | 17 | #6,691 | 22 | #4,443 |
| 2019 | 16 | #7,093 | 13 | #6,477 |
| 2018 | 19 | #6,303 | 23 | #4,382 |
| 2017 | 26 | #5,080 | 16 | #5,567 |
| 2016 | 40 | #3,799 | 27 | #3,899 |
Every recorded year (109)
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 34 | #4,242 | 26 | #4,000 |
| 2014 | 31 | #4,568 | 22 | #4,413 |
| 2013 | 34 | #4,265 | 21 | #4,496 |
| 2012 | 25 | #5,430 | 22 | #4,414 |
| 2011 | 46 | #3,460 | 25 | #4,005 |
| 2010 | 32 | #4,510 | 30 | #3,549 |
| 2009 | 62 | #2,830 | 23 | #4,300 |
| 2008 | 50 | #3,333 | 33 | #3,352 |
| 2007 | 74 | #2,517 | 36 | #3,141 |
| 2006 | 73 | #2,516 | 32 | #3,317 |
| 2005 | 86 | #2,143 | 38 | #2,806 |
| 2004 | 86 | #2,101 | 56 | #2,100 |
| 2003 | 91 | #1,988 | 43 | #2,433 |
| 2002 | 113 | #1,634 | 40 | #2,471 |
| 2001 | 126 | #1,489 | 41 | #2,389 |
| 2000 | 138 | #1,356 | 49 | #2,051 |
| 1999 | 177 | #1,119 | 40 | #2,265 |
| 1998 | 191 | #1,035 | 32 | #2,601 |
| 1997 | 247 | #838 | 42 | #2,099 |
| 1996 | 261 | #792 | 49 | #1,841 |
| 1995 | 250 | #794 | 31 | #2,452 |
| 1994 | 310 | #681 | 41 | #2,014 |
| 1993 | 289 | #730 | 49 | #1,737 |
| 1992 | 329 | #670 | 52 | #1,657 |
| 1991 | 342 | #646 | 61 | #1,447 |
| 1990 | 343 | #649 | 49 | #1,659 |
| 1989 | 404 | #555 | 47 | #1,657 |
| 1988 | 428 | #515 | 51 | #1,481 |
| 1987 | 376 | #535 | 59 | #1,271 |
| 1986 | 453 | #473 | 41 | #1,594 |
| 1985 | 511 | #432 | 49 | #1,391 |
| 1984 | 501 | #425 | 54 | #1,252 |
| 1983 | 503 | #429 | 34 | #1,689 |
| 1982 | 569 | #405 | 32 | #1,779 |
| 1981 | 526 | #417 | 31 | #1,817 |
| 1980 | 478 | #448 | 30 | #1,860 |
| 1979 | 252 | #680 | 31 | #1,793 |
| 1978 | 209 | #745 | 27 | #1,874 |
| 1977 | 184 | #815 | 34 | #1,613 |
| 1976 | 176 | #796 | 42 | #1,379 |
| 1975 | 220 | #679 | 44 | #1,306 |
| 1974 | 260 | #605 | 41 | #1,336 |
| 1973 | 134 | #920 | 30 | #1,588 |
| 1972 | 109 | #1,056 | 37 | #1,392 |
| 1971 | 143 | #911 | 34 | #1,468 |
| 1970 | 137 | #936 | 29 | #1,582 |
| 1969 | 126 | #952 | 26 | #1,610 |
| 1968 | 94 | #1,100 | 17 | #1,967 |
| 1967 | 73 | #1,256 | 17 | #1,915 |
| 1966 | 52 | #1,552 | 6 | #3,585 |
| 1965 | 44 | #1,694 | 21 | #1,727 |
| 1964 | 36 | #1,981 | 15 | #2,130 |
| 1963 | 32 | #2,095 | 12 | #2,433 |
| 1962 | 26 | #2,365 | 15 | #2,127 |
| 1961 | 11 | #4,049 | under 5 | |
| 1960 | 16 | #3,107 | 7 | #3,388 |
| 1959 | 16 | #3,000 | 14 | #2,214 |
| 1958 | 15 | #3,106 | 12 | #2,386 |
| 1957 | 9 | #4,259 | 11 | #2,508 |
| 1956 | 13 | #3,365 | 12 | #2,382 |
| 1955 | 11 | #3,608 | 10 | #2,595 |
| 1954 | 18 | #2,604 | 14 | #2,127 |
| 1953 | 5 | #5,792 | 8 | #2,947 |
| 1952 | 9 | #3,851 | 9 | #2,706 |
| 1951 | under 5 | 5 | #3,799 | |
| 1950 | under 5 | 6 | #3,375 | |
| 1949 | under 5 | 6 | #3,365 | |
| 1948 | 6 | #4,755 | under 5 | |
| 1947 | 8 | #4,046 | under 5 | |
| 1946 | 6 | #4,511 | under 5 | |
| 1945 | 7 | #3,720 | under 5 | |
| 1944 | 8 | #3,429 | under 5 | |
| 1940 | 8 | #3,260 | under 5 | |
| 1937 | 8 | #3,193 | under 5 | |
| 1936 | 9 | #2,892 | under 5 | |
| 1935 | 14 | #2,219 | under 5 | |
| 1934 | 10 | #2,770 | under 5 | |
| 1932 | 8 | #3,321 | under 5 | |
| 1931 | 10 | #2,793 | under 5 | |
| 1930 | 12 | #2,572 | under 5 | |
| 1929 | 12 | #2,605 | 6 | #3,619 |
| 1928 | 14 | #2,406 | under 5 | |
| 1927 | 11 | #2,892 | under 5 | |
| 1926 | 19 | #2,011 | under 5 | |
| 1925 | 11 | #2,970 | under 5 | |
| 1924 | 21 | #1,936 | under 5 | |
| 1923 | 15 | #2,383 | under 5 | |
| 1922 | 9 | #3,419 | under 5 | |
| 1921 | 17 | #2,212 | under 5 | |
| 1920 | 14 | #2,486 | under 5 | |
| 1919 | 19 | #1,931 | 6 | #3,807 |
| 1918 | 9 | #3,286 | under 5 | |
| 1917 | 7 | #3,785 | under 5 | |
| 1916 | 11 | #2,688 | 5 | #4,012 |
| 1915 | 5 | #4,399 | under 5 | |
| 1913 | 6 | #2,885 | under 5 | |
| 1912 | 7 | #2,419 | under 5 | |
| 1911 | 7 | #1,997 | under 5 | |
| 1910 | 5 | #2,475 | under 5 |
Ranks: girls’ names and boys’ names ranked separately in each year’s SSA file; “under 5” is a year SSA did not list the name for that sex.
Is Christen a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 13,706 Americans recorded as Christen, 84% are girls and 16% boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Christen: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Christen, and how old are they?
12,800 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 94% of the 13,706 Americans ever recorded as Christen. The median Christen alive today is 40 years old; half are between 31 and 46.
The 2020 Census counted 12,249 people named Christen (10,459 women and girls, 1,790 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 12,879 born in the U.S. The Census count is 5% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 27 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 304 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 2,940 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 6,900 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 2,170 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 499 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Christen born?
The states with the most babies named Christen are California, Texas and Ohio, with 29% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 1,049 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Texas | 1,031 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Ohio | 535 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| New York | 525 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Florida | 523 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Georgia | 436 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Pennsylvania | 403 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| North Carolina | 378 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Michigan | 365 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Illinois | 364 | not ranked | 0.5× |
Where Christen is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Christen is most over-represented in Georgia: since 1910 it was given 1.1 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Christen with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 7 names spelled alike, given to 250,885 babies since 1880, Christen is the second most given (5.5% of them). In 2025 it was given to 20 of their 131 babies (15%), again the second most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Christen
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Christen and names like it
- Compare Christen and KristenBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1980sChristen peaked in 1982.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Christen since 1910.
- Danish namesWiktionary’s origin for Christen: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1982The year the most babies were named Christen.
- The names of the MillennialsMost people named Christen alive today were born 1981-1996.
- Names starting with CMost given first.