Kriste
A feminine name derived from the Greek word "Christos" meaning "anointed one".
Name Census estimates that about 524 living Americans carry the first name Kriste. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kriste today is around 56 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kriste births was 1955 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kriste. 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
524
~ 1 in 654,111 Americans
Peak year
1955
36 babies that year
Average age
56
years old
1993 SSA rank
#14,652
Tracked since 1950
Census
Kriste in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 690 people with the first name Kriste, which placed it at #16,377 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
#16,377
National first-name rank
People counted
690
690 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
85.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kriste
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kriste is White at 85.8%. The next largest groups are Black (4.8%) and Hispanic (4.3%). 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 Kriste 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 Kriste at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.8% · 592
- Black or African American4.8% · 33
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 30
- Two or more races3.2% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 2
Popularity
Kriste: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kriste from the 1950s through to the 1990s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 228 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
Kriste 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 Kriste during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kristes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Kriste
The given name Kriste finds its origins in the Greek language and is derived from the word "Christos," which translates to "the anointed one." This name has strong religious connotations and is closely associated with Christianity.
Historically, the name Kriste has been used as a variant spelling of the name "Christ," which is the title given to Jesus of Nazareth in the New Testament. The name appears in various biblical texts, including the Gospels, and is central to the Christian faith.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kriste can be found in the writings of the early Christian theologian and philosopher, Origen (c. 184-253 AD). He used the name when referring to Jesus Christ in his theological works, which played a significant role in shaping early Christian doctrine.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Kriste. One of the most famous was Kriste Piirisild (1891-1983), an Estonian writer and journalist who played a crucial role in the development of Estonian literature during the early 20th century.
Another influential figure was Kriste Asuncio (1926-2016), a Filipino human rights activist and politician. She was a vocal advocate for women's rights and served as a member of the Philippine Senate from 1987 to 1992.
In the realm of art, Kriste Kern (1956-1998) was a prominent American painter and printmaker known for her vibrant and expressive works. Her artistic legacy continues to inspire contemporary artists.
Kriste Lemsalu (born 1976) is a contemporary Estonian artist whose sculptures and installations have garnered international acclaim. Her works often explore themes of identity, gender, and the human condition.
Lastly, Kriste Lewis (born 1970) is a Canadian actress and producer who has appeared in numerous television shows and films, including "The X-Files" and "Smallville."
People
Kriste + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kriste 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
Kriste: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kriste?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 524 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kriste 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 654,111 US residents.
Is Kriste a common name?
We classify Kriste as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 620 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kriste most popular?
The single biggest year for Kriste was 1955, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kriste is about 56 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kriste in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 690 people with the name Kriste, or 0.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,377 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 Kriste 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 Kriste?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kriste leans strongly female. 665 people counted with this name were female (96.2%), compared with 26 male bearers (3.8%). 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 Kriste?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kriste is White at 85.8%. The next largest groups are Black (4.8%) and Hispanic (4.3%). 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 Kriste most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kriste in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.8% (592 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 Kriste in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kriste a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kriste 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.
Is Kriste still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kriste 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 Kriste 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 common is the name Kriste?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.