Christian
Meaning of Christian
Christian traces its lineage to the Latin Christianus, itself a translation of the Greek word for “follower of Christ,” and it has travelled widely since the early days of Christendom. Once applied indiscriminately to boys and girls alike, the name gradually settled into the male column in English-speaking countries, where it is voiced as KRIHS-tyən, while Romance and Germanic languages give it slightly crisper contours. Monarchs of Denmark, storyteller Hans Christian Andersen, couturier Christian Dior, and actor Christian Bale illustrate its range—equal parts regal, literary, haute couture, and Hollywood. In the United States the name rose methodically through the charts, reaching the Top 25 at the dawn of this century before easing into its present Top 100 berth, a pattern that suggests enduring respect rather than fleeting fashion. With its straightforward meaning, global passport, and quietly authoritative sound, Christian offers parents a classic choice that feels neither outdated nor self-consciously modern—just comfortably at home in almost any era.
Pronunciation
Italian
- Pronunced as kree-STYAHN (/kri.stjan//)
German
- Pronunced as KRIS-ti-an (/ˈkʁɪs.ti.an//)
French
- Pronunced as kris-TYAHN (/kʁis.tjɑ̃//)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Similar Names to Christian
Notable People Named Christian
| English actor Christian Bale is renowned for transformative, versatile roles across genres, has won an Academy Award and two Golden Globes with four BAFTA nominations, and was among the highest paid in 2014. |
| Christian Pulisic is an American soccer star for AC Milan and the US national team, one of North America’s finest, nicknamed Captain America and renowned for his dribbling and playmaking. |
| Christian McCaffrey is an American NFL running back for the San Francisco 49ers who starred at Stanford, was drafted eighth overall by the Carolina Panthers in 2017, won AP College Football Player of the Year in 2015 as a Heisman finalist, and holds the NCAA season record for all purpose yards. |
| Christian de Duve was a Belgian cytologist and biochemist who discovered peroxisomes and lysosomes, shared the 1974 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, and coined autophagy, endocytosis, and exocytosis. |
| Christian Yelich is an American MLB outfielder for the Milwaukee Brewers, formerly with the Miami Marlins, who helped Team USA win its first World Baseball Classic title in 2017 and was named to the All World Baseball Classic Team. |
| Christian Taylor is a retired American triple jumper whose 18.21 meter personal best ranks second all time. |
| Christian Wolff was a leading German philosopher between Leibniz and Kant who used a rigorous mathematical method across many fields, epitomizing Enlightenment rationalism. |
| Christian Slater - Christian Michael Leonard Slater is an American actor who debuted in The Legend of Billie Jean in 1985 and gained fame for playing JD in the 1989 satire Heathers. |
| Christian Siriano is an American fashion designer who became the youngest Project Runway winner in 2007 and built a successful namesake label with multimillion dollar sales by 2012. |
| Christian Laettner is an American former basketball star who led Duke to back to back NCAA titles, won national player of the year, hit the iconic 1992 game winner against Kentucky, and became a famously polarizing figure among opposing fans. |
| Christian Chávez - Jose Christian Chavez Garza is a Mexican singer and actor best known for playing Giovanni Mendez Lopez in Rebelde and for being a member of the pop group RBD. |
| Christian Fuerchtegott Gellert was a German poet, novelist, and moralist who helped pave the way for the golden age of German literature championed by Lessing. |
| Christian Andreas Doppler was an Austrian mathematician and physicist who discovered the Doppler effect, showing that observed wave frequency shifts with relative motion. |
| Christian Boehmer Anfinsen Jr was an American biochemist who shared the 1972 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Stanford Moore and William Howard Stein for work on ribonuclease linking amino acid sequence to active conformation. |
| Christian Günther von Bernstorff - Count Christian Gunther von Bernstorff was a prominent Danish and Prussian statesman and diplomat. |
