Kristobal
A masculine name of Greek origin meaning "bearer of Christ".
Name Census estimates that about 11 living Americans carry the first name Kristobal. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kristobal today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kristobal births was 2011 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kristobal. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Kristobal. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
11
~ 1 in 31,159,485 Americans
Peak year
2011
6 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2011 SSA rank
#11,657
Tracked since 2007
Popularity
Kristobal: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kristobal from the 2000s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 6 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kristobal 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 Kristobal during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kristobal
The given name Kristobal originates from the Spanish language and has its roots in the ancient Greek name Christophoros, which means "Christ-bearer" or "one who carries Christ." The name's etymology can be traced back to the 3rd century AD when Christianity began to spread throughout the Roman Empire.
In the early days of Christianity, the name Christophoros was associated with the legend of St. Christopher, a martyr who is said to have carried a child across a river, only to discover later that the child was the Christ child. This legend contributed to the popularity of the name among early Christian communities.
The name Kristobal is a Spanish variant of the Latin name Christophorus, which was later adapted and adopted by various cultures and languages throughout Europe. In the Middle Ages, the name was popular among the nobility and the ruling classes, particularly in Spain and Portugal.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kristobal can be found in the historical records of the Spanish Reconquista, the period of conflict between Christian and Moorish rulers in the Iberian Peninsula between the 8th and 15th centuries. During this time, the name was borne by several notable figures, including Kristobal Colón, better known as Christopher Columbus, the Italian explorer who sailed under the Spanish crown and is credited with the discovery of the Americas in 1492.
Another famous Kristobal in history was Kristobal Vega, a Spanish conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico in the early 16th century. Kristobal Vega played a crucial role in the fall of the Aztec Empire and was later appointed as the governor of Nueva Galicia, a territory in western Mexico.
In the 16th century, the name Kristobal gained popularity in various parts of Europe, particularly in Spain, Portugal, and their colonies in the Americas. Kristobal de Morales was a renowned Spanish composer and music theorist who lived during the Renaissance and made significant contributions to the development of polyphonic music.
Moving to the 17th century, Kristobal Acosta was a Spanish Jesuit missionary and naturalist who traveled extensively in the Americas and wrote extensively about the flora and fauna of the New World. His work, "Historia Natural y Moral de las Indias," became an important source of information about the natural history and indigenous cultures of the Americas.
In the 19th century, Kristobal Balenciaga was a notable Spanish fashion designer who founded the Balenciaga fashion house in Spain. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential designers of the 20th century and is credited with introducing innovative techniques and designs that revolutionized the fashion industry.
People
Kristobal + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kristobal 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
Kristobal: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kristobal?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kristobal 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 31,159,485 US residents.
Is Kristobal a common name?
We classify Kristobal as "Very Rare". It ranks above 30.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kristobal most popular?
The single biggest year for Kristobal was 2011, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kristobal is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Kristobal in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kristobal a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kristobal 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 Kristobal still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kristobal 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 Kristobal 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Kristobal?
Find out how many people share the name Kristobal on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.