Christina
A feminine given name of Greek origin meaning "Christian or a follower of Christ".
Name Census estimates that about 426,448 living Americans carry the first name Christina. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Christina today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Christina births was 1985 (16,686 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Christina. 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.
Key insights
- • Although Christina is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 1,989 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Compared to the 1980s, recent registration numbers for Christina have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
426K
~ 1 in 804 Americans
Peak year
1985
16,686 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
2012 SSA rank
#704
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Christina
Out of the 481,348 babies given the name Christina since 1880, 99.6% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Christina as a male name
- Ranked #11,046 in 2012
- 6 male births in 2012
- Peak: 1989 (129 births)
Christina as a female name
- Ranked #704 in 2024
- 398 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1985 (16,600 births)
Popularity
Christina: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Christina from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 146,855 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
Christina 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 Christina during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Christinas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Christina, while Vermont, North Dakota, Wyoming recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 9,291 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Christina
The name Christina has its origins in the Latin language and can be traced back to ancient Rome. It derives from the word "Christianus," which means "a Christian" or "follower of Christ." This name was given to early Christian converts, particularly women, as a way to identify their religious affiliation.
The name gained popularity during the early years of Christianity and was widely used throughout the Roman Empire. One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Acts of the Apostles, a book of the New Testament, which mentions a woman named Christina who lived in the city of Philippi.
As Christianity spread across Europe, the name Christina became increasingly common. In the Middle Ages, it was particularly popular among the nobility and was borne by several royal figures, such as Christina of Sweden (1626-1689), a highly educated and unconventional queen who abdicated her throne to pursue intellectual pursuits.
Another notable bearer of the name was Christina Rossetti (1830-1894), an influential English poet and one of the most prominent figures of the Victorian literary era. Her works, including the famous poem "Goblin Market," explored themes of faith, love, and the human condition.
In the world of science, Christina Laird-Krieger (1935-2022) was a pioneering American astronomer known for her research on stellar atmospheres and the development of techniques for analyzing spectroscopic data.
During the Renaissance, the name Christina was also associated with several influential women in the arts. Christina of Denmark (1521-1590), better known as Christina of Lorraine, was a patron of the arts and a skilled painter and poet.
Throughout history, the name Christina has been borne by many notable women across various fields, including literature, politics, science, and the arts. Its enduring popularity can be attributed to its rich cultural heritage and its association with Christian traditions, which have played a significant role in shaping Western civilization.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Christina
People
Christina + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Christina 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
Christina: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Christina?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 426,448 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Christina 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 804 US residents.
Is Christina a common name?
We classify Christina as "Common". It ranks above 99.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 481,348 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Christina most popular?
The single biggest year for Christina was 1985, when 16,686 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Christina is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Christina a female name?
Yes, 99.6% of people registered as Christina 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.
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.