Christ
The masculine given name Christ refers to the Anointed One or Messiah.
Name Census estimates that about 2,140 living Americans carry the first name Christ. It is a predominantly male name (98.7% of registrations). The average person named Christ today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Christ births was 1923 (69 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Christ. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Christ with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Christ is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 52 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
2.1K
~ 1 in 160,166 Americans
Peak year
1923
69 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,799
Tracked since 1880
Census
Christ in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,740 people with the first name Christ, which placed it at #6,000 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#6,000
National first-name rank
People counted
2.7K
2,740 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
54.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Christ
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Christ is White at 54.6%. The next largest groups are Black (19.4%) and Hispanic (14.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Christ described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Christ at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White54.6% · 1,495
- Black or African American19.4% · 531
- Hispanic or Latino14.9% · 407
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.2% · 253
- Two or more races1.6% · 45
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 9
Gender
Gender distribution for Christ
Christ leans heavily male at 98.7% of total registrations, but 52 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Christ as a male name
- Ranked #3,799 in 2024
- 29 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1923 (69 births)
Christ as a female name
- Ranked #16,808 in 2016
- 5 female births in 2016
- Peak: 1965 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Christ leans strongly male. 2,428 people counted with this name were male (88.5%), compared with 314 female bearers (11.5%).
Popularity
Christ: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Christ from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 565 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Christ by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Christ during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Christs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York recorded the most babies named Christ, while Texas, Minnesota, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 119 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Christ
The name Christ originated from the Greek word "Christos," which is a translation of the Hebrew word "Meshiach," meaning "anointed one." This name has its roots in ancient Judeo-Christian traditions and is closely associated with Jesus Christ, the central figure of Christianity.
The name Christ first appeared in the New Testament of the Bible, which was written in the first century AD. It is used as a title for Jesus, who is believed to be the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament. The name Christ is derived from the Greek word "Christos," which is a translation of the Hebrew word "Meshiach," meaning "anointed one."
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Christ can be found in the Gospel of Matthew, where Jesus is referred to as "Jesus Christ" or "Jesus the Christ." This text dates back to around 70-100 AD and is considered one of the earliest written accounts of Jesus' life and teachings.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Christ as part of their religious titles or names. One of the most famous examples is Jesus Christ, the central figure of Christianity, who lived in the first century AD. Other examples include Pope John Paul II (1920-2005), whose birth name was Karol Józef Wojtyła, and Pope Benedict XVI (1927-present), whose birth name is Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger.
In addition to religious figures, there have been several historical figures who have used the name Christ as part of their names or titles. One example is Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer whose name means "Christ-bearer" in Latin. Another example is the Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin (1869-1916), whose full name was Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin-Novi Christi, meaning "Grigori Rasputin, the New Christ."
It is important to note that while the name Christ has deep religious and historical significance, its use as a given name is relatively rare in modern times. Instead, it is more commonly used as a title or as part of a religious name or phrase, such as "Jesus Christ" or "Christ the Lord."
People
Christ + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Christ as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Christ: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Christ?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,140 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Christ going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 160,166 US residents.
Is Christ a common name?
We classify Christ as "Rare". It ranks above 94% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,992 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Christ most popular?
The single biggest year for Christ was 1923, when 69 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Christ is about 42 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Christ in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,740 people with the name Christ, or 0.91 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,000 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Christ in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Christ?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Christ leans strongly male. 2,428 people counted with this name were male (88.5%), compared with 314 female bearers (11.5%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Christ?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Christ is White at 54.6%. The next largest groups are Black (19.4%) and Hispanic (14.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Christ most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Christ in the 2020 Census, accounting for 54.6% (1,495 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Christ in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Christ a male name?
Yes, 98.7% of people registered as Christ in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Christ still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Christ in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Christ can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Christ?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Christ at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.