Christene
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "a Christian believer".
Name Census estimates that about 2,139 living Americans carry the first name Christene. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Christene today is around 62 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Christene births was 1925 (118 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Christene. 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.
People living today
2.1K
~ 1 in 160,240 Americans
Peak year
1925
118 babies that year
Average age
62
years old
2009 SSA rank
#17,901
Tracked since 1888
Census
Christene in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,291 people with the first name Christene, which placed it at #6,858 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
#6,858
National first-name rank
People counted
2.3K
2,291 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
69.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Christene
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Christene is White at 69.9%. The next largest groups are Black (17.4%) and Hispanic (5.2%). 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 Christene 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 Christene at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.9% · 1,602
- Black or African American17.4% · 399
- Hispanic or Latino5.2% · 120
- Two or more races4.0% · 91
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 62
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 17
Popularity
Christene: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Christene from the 1880s through to the 2000s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 876 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
Christene 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 Christene during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Christenes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 19 states and territories. Texas, Arkansas, Georgia recorded the most babies named Christene, while Utah, Pennsylvania, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 122 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Christene
The name Christene is a variant of the feminine name Christine, derived from the Greek name Christos, meaning "anointed" or "the anointed one". It is a reference to Jesus Christ, the central figure in Christianity. The name gained popularity during the early days of Christianity, particularly in regions where the religion spread.
The earliest known use of the name Christine can be traced back to the 3rd century CE. Saint Christine of Tyre, a Christian martyr, is one of the earliest recorded individuals to bear this name. She lived during the reign of Roman Emperor Diocletian and was executed for her faith around the year 300 CE.
Another notable figure associated with the name is Christine de Pisan, a renowned Italian-French author and poet who lived from 1364 to circa 1430. She is considered one of the earliest feminist writers and made significant contributions to the literary world during the late Middle Ages.
In the 16th century, Christine of Lorraine, also known as Grand Duchess Christina of Tuscany, was a prominent figure in the history of Italy. Born in 1565, she served as the regent of Tuscany from 1621 to 1637 and played a crucial role in the political and cultural affairs of the region.
In the realm of literature, Christine Rossetti, born in 1830 and died in 1894, was an influential English poet who was part of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. Her works, such as "Goblin Market" and "Remember", are widely recognized for their emotional depth and vivid imagery.
Moving to the 20th century, Christine Jorgensen, born in 1926 and died in 1989, was an American transgender woman who gained widespread attention for her gender reassignment surgery in 1952. Her public transition and advocacy helped raise awareness about transgender issues and paved the way for greater acceptance and understanding.
These are just a few examples of notable figures throughout history who bore the name Christene or its variations. The name's connection to Christianity and its historical significance have contributed to its enduring popularity across various cultures and time periods.
People
Christene + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Christene 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
Christene: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Christene?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,139 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Christene 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 160,240 US residents.
Is Christene a common name?
We classify Christene as "Rare". It ranks above 94% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,916 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Christene most popular?
The single biggest year for Christene was 1925, when 118 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Christene is about 62 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Christene in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,291 people with the name Christene, or 0.76 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,858 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 Christene 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 Christene?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Christene appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,275 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Christene?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Christene is White at 69.9%. The next largest groups are Black (17.4%) and Hispanic (5.2%). 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 Christene most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Christene in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.9% (1,602 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 Christene in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Christene a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Christene in the SSA data are female. 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 Christene still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Christene 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 Christene 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 Christene?
You can see how many people share the name Christene on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.