Crispin
A masculine name of Latin origin relating to having curly hair.
Name Census estimates that about 1,451 living Americans carry the first name Crispin. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Crispin today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Crispin births was 2007 (39 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Crispin. 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
1.5K
~ 1 in 236,219 Americans
Peak year
2007
39 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,893
Tracked since 1915
Gender
Gender distribution for Crispin
Out of the 1,805 babies given the name Crispin since 1880, 99.7% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Crispin as a male name
- Ranked #6,893 in 2024
- 12 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2007 (39 births)
Crispin as a female name
- Ranked #6,978 in 1967
- 5 female births in 1967
- Peak: 1967 (5 births)
Popularity
Crispin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Crispin from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 260 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Crispin 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 Crispin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Crispins live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Texas, California, Georgia recorded the most babies named Crispin, while Georgia, California, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 165 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Crispin
The name Crispin has its origins in the Latin name Crispinus, which was derived from the word "crispus" meaning "curled" or "curly-haired". It was a common Roman family name used during ancient times.
The name rose to prominence during the early Christian era, largely due to the veneration of St. Crispin and St. Crispinian, two Roman brothers who were martyred around 287 CE. According to legend, they were shoemakers who traveled to Gaul (modern-day France) to preach Christianity and were ultimately executed for their faith.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Crispin comes from the early medieval period. In the year 1415, the Battle of Agincourt, a major English victory in the Hundred Years' War, took place on St. Crispin's Day, which is celebrated on October 25th. This significant historical event was immortalized in William Shakespeare's play "Henry V", where the famous St. Crispin's Day speech rallied the outnumbered English troops before their triumph over the French army.
Among notable individuals named Crispin throughout history are Crispin de Passe (1565-1637), a Dutch engraver and print publisher who produced numerous portraits of prominent figures during the Dutch Golden Age. Another was Crispin de Milthene (1596-1688), a French playwright and poet who wrote several tragedies and comedies during the 17th century.
In the realm of art, Crispin van den Broeck (1523-1591) was a Flemish painter known for his religious works and portraits. Meanwhile, in literature, Crispin Hellion Craven (1909-1976) was an American novelist and screenwriter who wrote several successful novels and adapted some of them for the big screen.
More recently, Crispin Glover (born 1964) is an American actor, filmmaker, and author, best known for his roles in films such as "Back to the Future" and his unique and eccentric persona. His distinctive name has contributed to his iconic status in popular culture.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Crispin
People
Crispin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Crispin 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
Crispin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Crispin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,451 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Crispin 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 236,219 US residents.
Is Crispin a common name?
We classify Crispin as "Rare". It ranks above 92.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,805 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Crispin most popular?
The single biggest year for Crispin was 2007, when 39 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Crispin is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Crispin a male name?
Yes, 99.7% of people registered as Crispin 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.