Christoher
Derived from the Late Greek name Χριστόφορος (Christophoros) meaning "bearing Christ".
Name Census estimates that about 1,035 living Americans carry the first name Christoher. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Christoher today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Christoher births was 1984 (62 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Christoher. 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
1.0K
~ 1 in 331,164 Americans
Peak year
1984
62 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
2007 SSA rank
#11,168
Tracked since 1961
Popularity
Christoher: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Christoher from the 1960s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 502 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
Christoher 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 Christoher during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Christohers live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Christoher, while Ohio, Illinois, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 27 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Christoher
The name Christoher is derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (Christophoros), which means "Christ-bearer" or "bearing Christ." The name is composed of two parts: Χριστός (Christos), meaning "Christ," and φέρω (phero), meaning "to bear" or "to carry."
The name Christoher has its roots in early Christianity and is closely associated with the legend of Saint Christopher, a martyred saint venerated in the Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican churches. According to the legend, Saint Christopher was a giant who carried a child across a river, only to discover later that the child was the Christ child, and the burden he carried was the weight of the world.
The earliest recorded use of the name Christoher can be traced back to the 3rd century AD, when the legend of Saint Christopher began to spread. The name gained popularity during the Middle Ages, especially after the 6th century, when the cult of Saint Christopher became widespread across Europe.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Christoher is Christopher of Licia, a 3rd-century Christian martyr. Another notable figure is Christopher Columbis, the Italian explorer who is credited with discovering the Americas in 1492, although he was not the first European to reach the continent.
Other famous historical figures named Christoher include:
1. Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593), an English playwright, poet, and translator of the Elizabethan era.
2. Christopher Wren (1632-1723), an English architect known for designing St. Paul's Cathedral in London after the Great Fire of 1666.
3. Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer who initiated the European colonization of the Americas.
4. Christopher Polhem (1661-1751), a Swedish scientist, inventor, and industrialist who made significant contributions to the development of mechanical engineering.
5. Christopher Smart (1722-1771), an English poet and writer best known for his long poem "A Song to David."
The name Christoher has been popular throughout history, particularly in Western Christian cultures, and has been borne by numerous notable individuals across various fields, including literature, architecture, exploration, and science.
People
Christoher + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Christoher 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
Christoher: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Christoher?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,035 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Christoher 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 331,164 US residents.
Is Christoher a common name?
We classify Christoher as "Rare". It ranks above 90.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,094 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Christoher most popular?
The single biggest year for Christoher was 1984, when 62 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Christoher is about 43 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Christoher a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Christoher 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.
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.