Kristien
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "follower of Christ".
Name Census estimates that about 288 living Americans carry the first name Kristien. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 86.6% of registrations being female. The average person named Kristien today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kristien births was 1977 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kristien. 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 Kristien with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
288
~ 1 in 1,190,119 Americans
Peak year
1977
25 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
2006 SSA rank
#13,162
Tracked since 1968
Census
Kristien in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 417 people with the first name Kristien, which placed it at #23,447 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
#23,447
National first-name rank
People counted
417
417 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
60.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kristien
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kristien is White at 60.0%. The next largest groups are Black (16.3%) and Hispanic (12.9%). 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 Kristien 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 Kristien at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White60.0% · 250
- Black or African American16.3% · 68
- Hispanic or Latino12.9% · 54
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.3% · 22
- Two or more races4.8% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Kristien
Kristien leans heavily female at 86.6% of total registrations, but 41 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Kristien as a male name
- Ranked #13,162 in 2006
- 5 male births in 2006
- Peak: 1974 (7 births)
Kristien as a female name
- Ranked #17,563 in 2004
- 5 female births in 2004
- Peak: 1977 (25 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Kristien on both sides of the split. Of the 415 people counted with this name, 99 were male (23.9%) and 316 were female (76.1%).
Popularity
Kristien: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kristien from the 1960s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 107 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
Kristien 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 Kristien during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kristiens live
Origin
Meaning and history of Kristien
The name Kristien is derived from the Greek name Χριστιανός (Christianos), which means "a Christian" or "follower of Christ". This name first appeared in the early Christian era, around the 1st century AD, when the followers of Jesus Christ were given this name to distinguish them from other religious groups.
The name Kristien is a Dutch variant of the name Christian, which has its roots in the Latin word "Christianus". It is believed that the name was first used in the Netherlands and other Low Countries regions during the Middle Ages, around the 12th and 13th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kristien can be found in the writings of the Dutch theologian and philosopher Erasmus, who lived from 1466 to 1536. He mentioned a man named Kristien in one of his letters, indicating that the name was in use during that time.
In the 16th century, a Dutch painter named Kristien van Vianen (1561-1633) gained fame for his intricate metalwork and enamel designs. His works were highly valued by the European nobility and can still be found in various museums and collections.
Another notable figure was Kristien Hemmerijckx (1530-1600), a Flemish artist and painter who was known for her religious works and portraits. She is considered one of the first professional female artists in the Low Countries.
In the 19th century, Kristien Muusers (1838-1921) was a Dutch painter and etcher who specialized in landscape and cityscape paintings. His works captured the beauty of the Netherlands and were widely appreciated during his lifetime.
One of the most famous individuals with the name Kristien was Kristien Hemmerechts (1955-1998), a Belgian singer and songwriter. She was a prominent figure in the Dutch-language music scene and is remembered for her powerful vocals and emotional compositions.
While the name Kristien may have its origins in the early Christian era and was primarily used in the Netherlands and surrounding regions, it has since gained popularity in various parts of the world, particularly in areas with Dutch cultural influences.
People
Kristien + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kristien 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
Kristien: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kristien?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 288 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kristien 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 1,190,119 US residents.
Is Kristien a common name?
We classify Kristien as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 305 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kristien most popular?
The single biggest year for Kristien was 1977, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kristien is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kristien in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 417 people with the name Kristien, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,447 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 Kristien 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 Kristien?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Kristien on both sides of the split. Of the 415 people counted with this name, 99 were male (23.9%) and 316 were female (76.1%). 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 Kristien?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kristien is White at 60.0%. The next largest groups are Black (16.3%) and Hispanic (12.9%). 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 Kristien most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kristien in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.0% (250 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 Kristien in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kristien a female name?
Yes, 86.6% of people registered as Kristien 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 Kristien still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kristien 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 Kristien 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 have the name Kristien?
Find out how many Americans are named Kristien on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.