Christophe
A masculine name of Greek origin meaning "bearer of Christ".
Name Census estimates that about 3,643 living Americans carry the first name Christophe. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Christophe today is around 59 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Christophe births was 1955 (325 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Christophe. 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 Christophe with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.6K
~ 1 in 94,086 Americans
Peak year
1955
325 babies that year
Average age
59
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,121
Tracked since 1929
Census
Christophe in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,072 people with the first name Christophe, which placed it at #4,534 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
#4,534
National first-name rank
People counted
4.1K
4,072 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
66.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Christophe
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Christophe is White at 66.4%. The next largest groups are Black (18.1%) and Hispanic (9.8%). 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 Christophe 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 Christophe at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.4% · 2,705
- Black or African American18.1% · 736
- Hispanic or Latino9.8% · 398
- Two or more races2.8% · 112
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 106
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 15
Popularity
Christophe: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Christophe from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 2,354 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Christophe 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 Christophe during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Christophes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 30 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Christophe, while Utah, South Carolina, District of Columbia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 80 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Christophe
Christophe is a masculine given name derived from the Greek Χριστόφορος (Christóforos), meaning "bearing Christ" or "Christ-bearer". The name has its origins in the Christian faith and is rooted in the tradition of honoring saints and biblical figures.
The name first appeared in Europe during the early centuries of Christianity, particularly in areas with strong Greek cultural influences, such as the Byzantine Empire and parts of the Mediterranean region. The earliest recorded use of the name can be traced back to the 4th century, when it was given to Christian saints and martyrs.
One of the most notable early references to the name Christophe is found in the legend of Saint Christopher, a figure venerated in Christian tradition as the patron saint of travelers and transporters. According to the legend, Christophe was a giant who carried a child across a river, only to discover later that the child was the Christ Child, bearing the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Christophe gained popularity across Europe, particularly in regions influenced by the Byzantine and Eastern Orthodox traditions. It was commonly bestowed upon children as a way to honor the Christian faith and seek the protection of Saint Christopher.
In the 12th century, Christophe de Beaumont, a French nobleman and crusader, became one of the earliest documented historical figures to bear the name. Other notable figures with the name Christophe include Christophe Colomb (1451-1506), the Italian explorer better known as Christopher Columbus, who played a pivotal role in the European exploration of the Americas.
In the 17th century, Christophe Plantin (1520-1589) was a renowned French printer and publisher who established the renowned Plantin Press in Antwerp, Belgium. Christophe Gluck (1714-1787), a German composer, is credited with reforming opera during the Classical period, while Christophe de Beaumont (1703-1781) was a French archbishop and philosopher who wrote extensively on education and moral philosophy.
In the 20th century, Christophe Colomb (1892-1959) was a French actor and film director, known for his work in silent films and early talkies. Christophe Ono-dit-Biot (1975-2015) was a French actor and director, best known for his roles in films such as "The Chorus" and "Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life".
Notable bearers
Famous people named Christophe
People
Christophe + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Christophe 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
Christophe: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Christophe?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,643 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Christophe 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 94,086 US residents.
Is Christophe a common name?
We classify Christophe as "Rare". It ranks above 95.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,476 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Christophe most popular?
The single biggest year for Christophe was 1955, when 325 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Christophe is about 59 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Christophe in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,072 people with the name Christophe, or 1.35 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,534 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 Christophe 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 Christophe?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Christophe appears almost entirely male. Of the 4,073 people counted with this name, 99.6% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Christophe?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Christophe is White at 66.4%. The next largest groups are Black (18.1%) and Hispanic (9.8%). 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 Christophe most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Christophe in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.4% (2,705 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 Christophe in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Christophe a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Christophe 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 Christophe still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Christophe 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 Christophe 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 Christophe?
See how many Americans are named Christophe on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.