Christian
Christian was given to 3,641 boys in 2025, #96 among boys’ names; 473,843 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 453,000 Americans named Christian and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (96% of everyone recorded); the median is 25 years old and half are between 17 and 32.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Christian by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Christian mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Christian is “a male given name from Ancient Greek found in England since the twelfth century.” Its etymology gives the sense “Christ, anointed [one]” (Χρῑστός).
Also “a female given name from Ancient Greek of medieval usage, rare today.”
From Middle English Cristien, from Old French chrestien, from Latin Chrīstiānus, from Ancient Greek Χρῑστιᾱνός (Khrīstiānós), from Χρῑστός (Khrīstós, “Christ, anointed [one]”) + Latin suffix -ānus. The older form is Christen. Doublet of cretin. By surface analysis, Christ + -ian.
/ˈkɹɪʃt͡ʃən/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Christian?
#96 among boys’ names, 2025
Christian fell from #43 in 2015 to #96 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 4.3 to 2.1 per 1,000.
16,544 babies in 1996, the peak
Christian peaked in 1996, when 16,544 babies were given it (15,824 boys, #24 among boys’ names). The 3,668 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 22% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3,641 | #96 | 2.1 |
| 2024 | 4,272 | #77 | 2.5 |
| 2023 | 4,158 | #77 | 2.4 |
| 2022 | 4,486 | #73 | 2.6 |
| 2021 | 4,636 | #71 | 2.6 |
| 2020 | 5,104 | #62 | 3.0 |
| 2019 | 5,781 | #57 | 3.2 |
| 2018 | 6,582 | #54 | 3.6 |
| 2017 | 7,025 | #52 | 3.8 |
| 2016 | 7,674 | #46 | 4.0 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 8,220 | #43 | 4.3 |
| 2014 | 8,480 | #42 | 4.4 |
| 2013 | 9,352 | #35 | 4.9 |
| 2012 | 9,640 | #33 | 5.1 |
| 2011 | 10,334 | #30 | 5.4 |
| 2010 | 11,110 | #29 | 5.8 |
| 2009 | 12,657 | #23 | 6.4 |
| 2008 | 13,069 | #23 | 6.4 |
| 2007 | 14,063 | #22 | 6.8 |
| 2006 | 14,487 | #21 | 7.0 |
| 2005 | 14,210 | #22 | 7.1 |
| 2004 | 13,926 | #24 | 7.0 |
| 2003 | 13,908 | #25 | 7.0 |
| 2002 | 14,597 | #24 | 7.5 |
| 2001 | 15,457 | #24 | 8.0 |
| 2000 | 16,059 | #22 | 8.2 |
| 1999 | 14,783 | #25 | 7.7 |
| 1998 | 14,522 | #26 | 7.6 |
| 1997 | 15,059 | #25 | 8.0 |
| 1996 | 15,824 | #24 | 8.4 |
| 1995 | 13,813 | #28 | 7.3 |
| 1994 | 11,987 | #35 | 6.2 |
| 1993 | 11,891 | #35 | 6.1 |
| 1992 | 11,953 | #35 | 6.0 |
| 1991 | 9,447 | #48 | 4.7 |
| 1990 | 6,786 | #60 | 3.3 |
| 1989 | 4,625 | #78 | 2.3 |
| 1988 | 3,937 | #86 | 2.1 |
| 1987 | 3,324 | #90 | 1.8 |
| 1986 | 3,214 | #89 | 1.7 |
| 1985 | 2,915 | #101 | 1.6 |
| 1984 | 2,726 | #104 | 1.5 |
| 1983 | 2,419 | #112 | 1.3 |
| 1982 | 2,576 | #114 | 1.4 |
| 1981 | 2,235 | #121 | 1.2 |
| 1980 | 2,318 | #118 | 1.3 |
| 1979 | 2,262 | #120 | 1.3 |
| 1978 | 2,208 | #116 | 1.3 |
| 1977 | 2,294 | #116 | 1.4 |
| 1976 | 2,268 | #112 | 1.4 |
| 1975 | 2,463 | #103 | 1.6 |
| 1974 | 2,490 | #103 | 1.6 |
| 1973 | 2,693 | #97 | 1.7 |
| 1972 | 2,962 | #96 | 1.8 |
| 1971 | 2,639 | #122 | 1.5 |
| 1970 | 2,623 | #127 | 1.4 |
| 1969 | 2,194 | #140 | 1.2 |
| 1968 | 1,780 | #151 | 1.0 |
| 1967 | 1,320 | #186 | 0.76 |
| 1966 | 888 | #237 | 0.50 |
| 1965 | 730 | #275 | 0.39 |
| 1964 | 711 | #294 | 0.36 |
| 1963 | 672 | #299 | 0.33 |
| 1962 | 650 | #305 | 0.31 |
| 1961 | 606 | #319 | 0.29 |
| 1960 | 662 | #301 | 0.31 |
| 1959 | 581 | #323 | 0.27 |
| 1958 | 427 | #377 | 0.20 |
| 1957 | 327 | #426 | 0.15 |
| 1956 | 389 | #381 | 0.18 |
| 1955 | 350 | #384 | 0.17 |
| 1954 | 352 | #378 | 0.17 |
| 1953 | 338 | #372 | 0.17 |
| 1952 | 319 | #384 | 0.16 |
| 1951 | 272 | #413 | 0.14 |
| 1950 | 268 | #411 | 0.15 |
| 1949 | 218 | #452 | 0.12 |
| 1948 | 202 | #469 | 0.12 |
| 1947 | 187 | #492 | 0.10 |
| 1946 | 182 | #477 | 0.11 |
| 1945 | 141 | #503 | 0.10 |
| 1944 | 135 | #524 | 0.10 |
| 1943 | 135 | #542 | 0.09 |
| 1942 | 108 | #607 | 0.08 |
| 1941 | 122 | #532 | 0.10 |
| 1940 | 99 | #598 | 0.09 |
| 1939 | 94 | #601 | 0.08 |
| 1938 | 99 | #592 | 0.09 |
| 1937 | 85 | #640 | 0.08 |
| 1936 | 91 | #611 | 0.09 |
| 1935 | 71 | #725 | 0.07 |
| 1934 | 92 | #624 | 0.09 |
| 1933 | 77 | #671 | 0.08 |
| 1932 | 86 | #658 | 0.08 |
| 1931 | 87 | #634 | 0.08 |
| 1930 | 94 | #632 | 0.09 |
| 1929 | 93 | #634 | 0.09 |
| 1928 | 114 | #581 | 0.10 |
| 1927 | 112 | #584 | 0.10 |
| 1926 | 113 | #587 | 0.10 |
| 1925 | 105 | #612 | 0.09 |
| 1924 | 125 | #568 | 0.11 |
| 1923 | 116 | #583 | 0.11 |
| 1922 | 160 | #490 | 0.15 |
| 1921 | 132 | #544 | 0.12 |
| 1920 | 143 | #508 | 0.13 |
| 1919 | 125 | #531 | 0.13 |
| 1918 | 155 | #474 | 0.15 |
| 1917 | 149 | #467 | 0.16 |
| 1916 | 154 | #452 | 0.17 |
| 1915 | 151 | #445 | 0.18 |
| 1914 | 122 | #437 | 0.19 |
| 1913 | 91 | #451 | 0.18 |
| 1912 | 91 | #404 | 0.21 |
| 1911 | 41 | #457 | 0.18 |
| 1910 | 40 | #432 | 0.21 |
| 1909 | 29 | #475 | 0.18 |
| 1908 | 29 | #454 | 0.19 |
| 1907 | 32 | #396 | 0.22 |
| 1906 | 33 | #364 | 0.25 |
| 1905 | 26 | #422 | 0.20 |
| 1904 | 30 | #370 | 0.23 |
| 1903 | 36 | #312 | 0.30 |
| 1902 | 33 | #338 | 0.27 |
| 1901 | 38 | #278 | 0.36 |
| 1900 | 35 | #377 | 0.23 |
| 1899 | 42 | #258 | 0.40 |
| 1898 | 30 | #351 | 0.24 |
| 1897 | 39 | #288 | 0.35 |
| 1896 | 36 | #312 | 0.30 |
| 1895 | 53 | #245 | 0.45 |
| 1894 | 40 | #278 | 0.35 |
| 1893 | 39 | #279 | 0.35 |
| 1892 | 42 | #279 | 0.34 |
| 1891 | 34 | #277 | 0.34 |
| 1890 | 49 | #238 | 0.44 |
| 1889 | 51 | #227 | 0.46 |
| 1888 | 51 | #244 | 0.42 |
| 1887 | 47 | #233 | 0.46 |
| 1886 | 33 | #299 | 0.30 |
| 1885 | 55 | #218 | 0.51 |
| 1884 | 54 | #231 | 0.47 |
| 1883 | 50 | #218 | 0.48 |
| 1882 | 49 | #238 | 0.43 |
| 1881 | 53 | #208 | 0.53 |
| 1880 | 43 | #253 | 0.39 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Christian a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 473,843 Americans recorded as Christian, 4% are girls and 96% boys. In 2025 it went to 27 girls and 3,641 boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Christian: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Christian, and how old are they?
453,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 96% of the 473,843 Americans ever recorded as Christian. The median Christian alive today is 25 years old; half are between 17 and 32.
The 2020 Census counted 415,787 people named Christian (17,496 women and girls, 398,291 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 432,956 born in the U.S. The Census count is 4% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 409 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 5,660 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 33,000 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 115,000 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 219,000 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 79,800 |
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 Christian born?
The states with the most babies named Christian are Texas, California and Florida, with 36% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 566 | #68 | 1.2× |
| California | 508 | #73 | 1.2× |
| Florida | 240 | #88 | 1.2× |
| New York | 188 | #94 | 1.1× |
| Georgia | 159 | #64 | 1.1× |
| North Carolina | 152 | #77 | 1.0× |
| Illinois | 132 | #88 | 0.9× |
| New Jersey | 124 | #71 | 1.3× |
| Pennsylvania | 110 | #114 | 0.9× |
| Michigan | 95 | #98 | 0.8× |
Where Christian is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Christian is most over-represented in New Jersey: since 1910 it was given 1.3 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 boys’ 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 Christian 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 8 names spelled alike, given to 484,687 babies since 1880, Christian is the most given (98% of them). In 2025 it was given to 3,668 of their 3,699 babies (99%), again the 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 Christian
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 Christian and names like it
- Compare Christian and ChristanBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1990sChristian peaked in 1996.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Christian since 1910.
- Ancient Greek namesWiktionary’s origin for Christian: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1996The year the most babies were named Christian.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Christian alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with CMost given first.