Christopher

Greek and Latin
"bearer of Christ"

Christopher Origin and Meaning

The name Christopher is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "bearer of Christ".

Christopher derived from the Greek Christophoros, which is composed of the elements Christos, referring to Christ, and phero, meaning "to bear."

The name was originally used figuratively, to represent the bearing of Christ in one’s heart. Later it became used to honor Saint Christopher, a third century martyr who became the protective saint of travelers, reflecting the legend of Christopher being the giant who carried the Christ Child over a river.

Christopher is an evergreen classic that dropped from Top 25 status in 2013, in spite of its appealingly strong, sincere, straightforward image, combined with a softer, more modern sound than, say, Robert or Richard.

The name appeals to a wide range of parents, and has been chosen by several celebrities, including Sean "Diddy" Combs.

The almost ubiquitous American nickname is Chris, but a more recent one is Topher, and there are British variations that might add a more individual spin to the name—Kit, Kip and Christy. Two Christophers known to every schoolchild: Christopher Columbus and Christopher Robin.

# 55 in the US

Christopher Rank in US Top 1000

# 226 on Nameberry

Christopher Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Christopher Popularity

Famous People Named Christopher

  • Christopher Mason
    American model
  • Christopher Columbus
    Italian explorer
  • Christopher Plummer
    Canadian actor
  • Christopher Eccleston
    English actor
  • Christopher Marlowe
    English dramatist
  • Christopher Nolan
    British film director and producer
  • Christopher Lee
    English actor
  • Christopher Paul "Chris" Colfer
    American actor and singer
  • Christopher Robert "Chris" Evans
    American actor
  • Christopher D'Olier Reeve
    American actor
  • Christopher Allen Lloyd
    American actor
  • Christopher Hitchens
    English,American author/journalist
  • Christopher Walken
    American actor
  • Christopher Peter Meroni
    American actor
  • Christopher Kennedy Masterson
    American actor
  • Christopher Whitelaw "Chris" Pine
    American actor
  • Christopher Michael "Chris" Pratt
    American actor
  • Christopher John "Topher" Grace
    American actor
  • Christopher Haden
    Guest, British American actor/the 5th Baron Haden,Guest
  • Christopher David "Chris" Noth
    American actor
  • Christopher Shannon "Chris" Penn
    American actor
  • Christopher "Chris" Tucker
    American actor
  • Christopher Julius "Chris" Rock III
    American actor
  • Christopher Crosby "Chris" Farley
    American actor
  • Christopher W. "Chris" Cooper
    American actor
  • Christopher Moore
    American author
  • Christopher Joseph "Chris" Isaak
    American musician
  • Christopher Taylor Buckley
    Canadian American satirist and political speechwriter
  • Christopher Anthony John "Chris" Martin
    British musician
  • Christopher "Chris" O'Dowd
    Irish actor & comedian
  • Christopher Robin Milne
    son of the Winnie,the,Pooh author
  • Christopher Kelly
    Canadian NHL Hockey player
  • (Christopher) Ashton Kutcher
    American actor
  • Christopher Maurice "Chris" Brown
    American singer
  • Christopher Jordan Graves
    American actor; twin brother Kevin Graves
  • Christopher "Chris" Tomlin
    American contemporary Christian singer,songwriter
  • Christopher Charles Mintz
    Plasse, American actor
  • Christopher Eugene "Chris" O'Donnell
    American actor
  • Christopher Cross
    American musician
  • Christopher "Chris" Brooks
    American artistic gymnast
  • Christopher Adam "Chris" Daughtry
    American musician
  • Christopher Anton "Chris" Knight
    American actor
  • Christopher James Paolini
    American author
  • Warren Minor Christopher
    American lawyer, diplomat and politician
  • Christopher Pike
    pseudonym of American young adult thriller novelist Kevin Christopher McFadden
  • Christopher Michael Wren
    architect who designed St Paul's Cathedral, London
  • Christopher "Chris" Stark
    British radio personality
  • Christopher James "Chris" Kendall
    British vlogger
  • Christopher Burton
    Australian horse rider
  • Christopher "Kit" Carlton Cumberbatch (b. 2015)
    oldest son of actor Benedict Cumberbatch and director Sophie Hunter
  • Christopher Neal Jackson
    American actor, singer, musician, and composer
  • Christopher Anne "Chris" Affleck (nee Boldt)
    mother of actors Ben and Casey Affleck.
  • Christopher "Chris" Sean Lowe
    English musician, singer, and songwriter
  • Christopher Catesby "Kit" Harington
    English actor
  • Christopher Wolfgang Georg August Schindler
    German professional footballer
  • Christopher "Chris" Lloyd Smalling
    English professional footballer
  • Christopher Mark "Chris" Whelpdale
    English professional footballer
  • Christopher Thomas "Chris" Hemsworth
    Australian actor
  • Christopher Meyer
    (b. 1985), 10,year,old American boy mutilated and stabbed to death in 1995

Christopher in Pop Culture

  • Christopher
    main character in short story "My Girlfriend, the Giantess" by author Tina Tirrell
  • Christopher Boone
    character in book/play"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night,time"
  • Christopher Moltisanti
    character on TV's "The Sopranos"
  • Christopher Ewing
    character on TV's "Dallas"
  • Christopher Foyle
    main character on TV's "Foyle's War"
  • Christopher Herrmann
    character on TV's "Chicago Fire"
  • Christopher Turk
    character on TV's "Scrubs"
  • Christopher Tietjens
    character in "Parade's End" book and TV series
  • Christopher "Kit" Walker aka The Phantom
    comic book character
  • Christopher "Chris" Nord: Agent Zero
    character in Marvel Comics
  • Christopher "Chris" Perry Halliwell
    son of Piper and Leo on TV's "Charmed"
  • Christopher "Chris" Michael Taub
    character on TV's "House M.D."
  • Christopher
    angel in Gabriel's Angel by Mark A Radcliffe
  • Christopher Lasalle
    character from TV series "NCIS"
  • Christopher "Chris" Dollanganger
    character in the book series by V.C. Andrews
  • Christopher Robin Pike
    second captain of the Enterprise in the Star Trek series
  • Christopher MacLaren
    character on TV's "Orange is the New Black"
  • Christopher Crowquill
    character in Jenny Nimmo's "The Children of the Red King" series
  • Christopher "Chris"
    character in video game "Until Dawn"
  • Christopher Castillo
    character on "How to Get Away with Murder"
  • Christopher "The Blond" Castillo
    character in DC Universe
  • Christopher Cross "Chris" Griffin
    character on TV's "Family Guy"
  • Christopher "Kit" Jonathan Herondale
    character in Cassandra Clare's "The Dark Artifices" series
  • Christopher Lightwood
    character in Cassandra Clare’s “The Last Hours” series
  • Colonel Christopher Brandon
    character in Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility
  • * from 1967 to 1990
    Christopher was also in the Top 1000 names for girls

Christopher in Nameberry Blog Posts