Kirstin
A feminine name of English origin from a medieval diminutive of Christian.
Name Census estimates that about 8,268 living Americans carry the first name Kirstin. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kirstin today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kirstin births was 1990 (413 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kirstin. 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
8.3K
~ 1 in 41,456 Americans
Peak year
1990
413 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2023 SSA rank
#16,452
Tracked since 1942
Popularity
Kirstin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kirstin from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 3,108 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kirstin 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 Kirstin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kirstins live
The SSA's state-level files cover 36 states and territories. California, Texas, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Kirstin, while West Virginia, Montana, Nebraska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 168 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kirstin
The name Kirstin is of ancient Germanic origin, derived from the word "Christen," which means "follower of Christ." It is a variant of the name Christina, which has its roots in the Greek name Χριστίνα (Khristína), meaning "Christian."
Kirstin first emerged in the Middle Ages, primarily in Scandinavia and parts of Northern Europe. It was originally a feminine form of the male name Christian, which was commonly used among early converts to Christianity in these regions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kirstin can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, a collection of medieval Icelandic literature written between the 12th and 14th centuries. In these sagas, Kirstin is mentioned as the name of several female characters, indicating its widespread usage at the time.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Kirstin. One of the earliest was Kirstin Svendsdatter (1608-1674), a Norwegian noblewoman and landowner who played a significant role in the economic development of her region.
Another prominent Kirstin was Kirstin Flagstad (1895-1962), a renowned Norwegian opera singer widely regarded as one of the greatest Wagnerian sopranos of the 20th century. Her interpretations of Wagner's operatic roles were highly acclaimed and influential.
In the literary world, Kirstin Ekman (1933-2022) was a Swedish author and journalist who wrote several critically acclaimed novels and short story collections, exploring themes of rural life and the human condition.
Kirstin Downey (born 1949) is an American journalist and author known for her biographies of influential figures such as Frances Perkins, the first female member of the United States Cabinet, and Ida B. Wells, a pioneering African American journalist and activist.
Kirstin Maldonado (born 1992) is a contemporary American singer and member of the acclaimed a cappella group Pentatonix. Her powerful vocals have contributed to the group's numerous awards and chart-topping albums.
While the name Kirstin has evolved and taken on various spellings over time, its essence remains rooted in its ancient Germanic origins, reflecting the rich cultural and religious heritage of Northern Europe.
People
Kirstin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kirstin as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kirstin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kirstin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 8,268 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kirstin 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 41,456 US residents.
Is Kirstin a common name?
We classify Kirstin as "Rare". It ranks above 97.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 8,778 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kirstin most popular?
The single biggest year for Kirstin was 1990, when 413 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kirstin is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Kirstin a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kirstin 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.