Christian Name Meaning

By Wendy Wisner
Updated on July 22, 2021
Fact checked by Daniella Amato
baby boy

 Tatyana Tomsickova Photography / Getty Images

Are you looking for a traditional masculine name that highlights your religious heritage? Christian might be the perfect choice for you.

The name Christian comes from a Latin word that means “follower of Christ,” just as the word Christian does in English.

  • Origin: Christian is derived from the Latin “Christianus,” which means “a follower of Christ.”
  • Gender: Christian can be used for both boys and girls, though it is more commonly used as a masculine name. Feminine variants include Christa, Christine, and Christina.
  • Pronunciation: KRIS-chin

Although baby names are often separated by gender, Verywell Family believes that sex need not play any role in your name selection process. It’s important to select the name that you feel is best suited for your new baby.

How Popular Is the Name Christian?

Christian is a consistently popular name in the U.S., and has become even more popular in the past 35 years. In 1986, it joined the top 100 names for boys in the U.S., ranking as No. 89. It continued to rise, reaching its peak at No. 21 in 2006. The latest statistics show that Christian is the No. 62 name for boys in America.

Although the name Christian is typically used as a masculine name, it can certainly be used however you see fit as sex doesn't have to be a part of your name selection process.

Name Variations

As the Christian religion has spread across the globe, there are equivalents to the name Christian in virtually every known language. Some of the most common forms include:

  • Christiaan (Afrikaans)
  • Chrétien (French)
  • Críosdaidh (Gaelic)
  • Cristian (Galician)
  • Cristián (Spanish)
  • Cristiano (Italian)
  • Karsten (Dutch)
  • Kristen (Swedish)
  • Kristian (Danish)
  • Kristián (Czech)
  • Kristiāns (Latvian)
  • Kristijan (Croatian)
  • Kristijonas (Lithuanian)
  • Kristjan (Estonian)
  • Kristján (Icelandic)
  • Kristo (Albanian)
  • Krisztián (Hungarian)
  • Krystian (Polish)

Feminine variants include Christina, Christine, Cristina, Kirsten, Kristen, Kristin, Kristina, and Kyrsten.

Note that in Scandinavian cultures, Kristen is a masculine form while Kristin is the feminine equivalent.

Similar Names

Closely related is the name Christopher (meaning “Christ-bearer”) and its family of similar names: Christoffel, Christoffer, Cristofo, Kristobal, Kristoff, Kristofor, Krisztofer.

Other boy names starting with C:

  • Caleb
  • Calvin
  • Cameron
  • Carson
  • Carter
  • Charles
  • Chase
  • Cole
  • Colton
  • Connor
  • Cooper
  • Colin
  • Colt

Suggested Sibling Names

  • Austin
  • Destiny
  • Gavin
  • Hailey
  • Jonathan
  • Lauren
  • Luke
  • Morgan
  • Samuel
  • Victoria

Famous People Named Christian

There have been a number of notable people named Christian. These include: 

  • Christian Alexander, American actor known for his role on “General Hospital”
  • Christian Bale, English actor known for playing Batman in the “Dark Knight” film series
  • Christian Bauman, American novelist known for his book “The Ice Beneath You”
  • Christian Bergman, American baseball player who played for the Colorado Rockies and Seattle Mariners
  • Christian Bethancourt, Panamanian baseball player who plays for the Pittsburgh Pirates
  • Christian Bizot, French winemaker, head of the Bollinger Champagne house
  • Christian Boros, German advertising agency founder and art collector
  • Christian Bryant. American football player
  • Christian Cooke, English actor known for his roles in the films “Where the Heart Is,” “Demons,” and “Trinity”
  • Christian DiLauro, American football player
  • Christian Dior, French fashion designer, founder of one of the world’s best known fashion brands
  • Christian Doppler, Austrian mathematician and physicist who discovered the principle known as the “Doppler Effect”
  • Christian Garcia, American baseball player who pitched for the Washington Nationals
  • Christian Hosoi, American professional skateboarder
  • Christian Kirk, American football player who plays for the Arizona Cardinals
  • Christian Lacroix, French fashion designer
  • Christian Latouche, French businessman who is the founder and CEO of Fiducial SA
  • Christian Jimenez, American soccer player
  • Christian Kälin, Swiss lawyer and businessman who is the chairman of Henley & Partners
  • Christian Navarro, American actor known for his role in the Netflix series “13 Reasons Why”
  • Christian Okoye, Nigerian-American football player who played for the Kansas City Chiefs
  • Christian Ponder, American football player who played quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings
  • Christian Reiher, German mathematician known for solving Kemnitz's conjecture
  • Christian Rosenmeier, American politician known for the legislation that created Charles A. Lindbergh State Park and Camp Ripley
  • Christian Siriano, American fashion designer who gained fame as the winner of the “Project Runway” competition
  • Christian Slater, American actor known for his roles in such films as “Heathers,” “Pump Up the Volume,” and “True Romance”
  • Christian Taylor, American athlete who won the gold medal for the triple jump in the 2016 Olympic Games
  • Christian Wulff, German politician who served as President of Germany from 2010 to 2012
  • Christian Yelich, American baseball player who plays for the Milwaukee Brewers

More Baby Names

Still searching for the perfect baby name? Check out these related baby name lists for even more options:

2 Sources
Verywell Family uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

  1. Ancestry. Christian name meaning.

  2. Social Security Administration. Popularity of the name Christian.

Additional Reading

By Wendy Wisner
Wendy Wisner is a lactation consultant and writer covering maternal/child health, parenting, general health and wellness, and mental health. She has worked with breastfeeding parents for over a decade, and is a mom to two boys.

See Our Editorial Process
Meet Our Review Board