girl's name
Kirsten
KEER-sten
- Origin Scandinavian
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 7
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 62,489
Northern Ireland
#493
2015 births
Kirsten means a follower of the anointed one, and the anointing is literal — Christ translates the Hebrew mashiach, and both words describe someone smeared with oil at a coronation rather than a divine title.
- Kirsten is a name of Scandinavian origin.
- Peaked in 1991, when 1,938 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 55,258 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1937.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Kirsten over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1930s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1930s | 40 |
| 1940s | 297 |
| 1950s | 813 |
| 1960s | 6,686 |
| 1970s | 8,336 |
| 1980s | 8,807 |
| 1990s | 16,919 |
| 2000s | 9,349 |
| 2010s | 1,809 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 337 |
What Kirsten means
Kirsten means a Christian, or a follower of Christ. The Greek behind it derives from a word for anointing, so the sense runs through a physical rite rather than a belief.
Where Kirsten comes from
Kirsten is the Scandinavian form of Christina, from the Greek christianos, a Christian, built on christos — anointed. Christos was the Greek translation of the Hebrew mashiach, messiah, and both describe the oil poured over a king or priest at his installation. So the title is a job description before it is anything else. Cristina, elsewhere in this group, descends from the same root by an Italian and Spanish route.
Kirsten in use
Kirsten peaked in the United States in 1991, when 1,938 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It charts in exactly one of the six markets we track, at 2839th in the United States on 60 births, across 62,489 lifetime births. England and Wales ran its own peak of 225 births in 1996 and Scotland 126 in 1995, both since dropped out of the rankings.
How popular is Kirsten?
In 2025, Kirsten was given to 60 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Kirsten is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Kirsten
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Kirsten also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Kirsten over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Kirsten
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Kirsten in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Dutch
- Christina Christiane Christiana
- French
- Christiane
- German
- Christiane
- Greek
- Christina Christiana
- Italian
- Cristiana
- Polish
- Krystiana
- Portuguese
- Cristiana
- Romanian
- Cristiana
- Swedish
- Kerstin
Sibling names for Kirsten
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Kirsten — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Kirsten
What does the name Kirsten mean?
A follower of Christ — the Greek christianos, from christos, anointed.
Does Christ mean anointed?
Yes, literally. It translates the Hebrew mashiach, describing oil poured at an installation.
Is Cristina the same root?
Yes — the same word arriving by an Italian and Spanish route instead of a Scandinavian one.
How popular is Kirsten?
2839th in the United States, down from a 1991 peak of 1,938 births.
Is Kirsten a girl's or a boy's name?
Kirsten is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Kirsten?
Kirsten has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Kirsten?
Kirsten is usually shortened to Kirsty.
Is Kirsten a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Kirsten currently ranks #2,375 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.