Christia
A French feminine name derived from the old Germanic name "Christene", meaning "follower of Christ".
Name Census estimates that about 740 living Americans carry the first name Christia. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 90.0% of registrations being female. The average person named Christia today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Christia births was 1989 (107 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Christia. 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
740
~ 1 in 463,182 Americans
Peak year
1989
107 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
1989 SSA rank
#1,174
Tracked since 1949
Census
Christia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,123 people with the first name Christia, which placed it at #11,414 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
#11,414
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,123 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
49.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Christia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Christia is White at 49.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (20.9%) and Black (20.4%). 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 Christia 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 Christia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White49.7% · 558
- Hispanic or Latino20.9% · 235
- Black or African American20.4% · 229
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.3% · 59
- Two or more races3.0% · 34
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 8
Gender
Gender distribution for Christia
Christia leans heavily female at 90.0% of total registrations, but 82 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Christia as a male name
- Ranked #1,174 in 1989
- 82 male births in 1989
- Peak: 1989 (82 births)
Christia as a female name
- Ranked #15,677 in 2023
- 5 female births in 2023
- Peak: 1989 (25 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Christia leans strongly female. 922 people counted with this name were female (81.8%), compared with 205 male bearers (18.2%).
Popularity
Christia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Christia from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 250 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Christia 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 Christia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Christias live
Origin
Meaning and history of Christia
The given name Christia has its origins in Greek and Latin languages, dating back to the early days of Christianity. It is a feminine form of the Latin name Christianus, which means "follower of Christ."
The name Christia first appeared in ancient Christian texts and records, particularly in the writings of early Church Fathers and martyrologies. It was bestowed upon women who embraced the Christian faith and dedicated their lives to its teachings.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Christia can be found in the Acta Sanctorum, a collection of hagiographies compiled by the Bollandist monks in the 17th century. According to these records, there was a Christian martyr named Christia who lived in the 3rd century AD and was executed during the Persecution of Decius.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Christia. One of the most renowned was Christia of Iberia (c. 337 - c. 413), a Cappadocian princess who played a crucial role in the Christianization of Iberia (modern-day Georgia). Her unwavering faith and missionary efforts led to the conversion of King Mirian III and the establishment of Christianity as the state religion.
Another prominent figure was Christia of Leavenworth (1822 - 1868), an American Catholic nun and educator who co-founded the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, a religious order dedicated to education and social services.
In medieval Europe, the name Christia was not uncommon among religious women. One such individual was Christia de Markyate (c. 1096 - c. 1155), an English nun and recluse who lived as an anchoress in the village of Markyate, Hertfordshire.
During the Renaissance period, the name Christia was also used by several notable women, including Christia Murada (1518 - 1590), a Spanish poet and playwright who wrote works celebrating the Virgin Mary and the Catholic faith.
While the name Christia has its roots in Christianity, it has also been adopted by individuals of various faiths and cultures over the centuries, reflecting its enduring appeal and the diversity of its bearers.
People
Christia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Christia 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
Christia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Christia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 740 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Christia 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 463,182 US residents.
Is Christia a common name?
We classify Christia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 819 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Christia most popular?
The single biggest year for Christia was 1989, when 107 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Christia is about 43 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Christia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,123 people with the name Christia, or 0.37 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,414 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 Christia 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 Christia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Christia leans strongly female. 922 people counted with this name were female (81.8%), compared with 205 male bearers (18.2%). 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 Christia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Christia is White at 49.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (20.9%) and Black (20.4%). 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 Christia most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Christia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.7% (558 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 Christia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Christia a female name?
Yes, 90.0% of people registered as Christia 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 Christia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Christia 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 Christia 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 people are named Christia?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Christia, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.