unisex name
Kit
KIT
- Origin Greek
- Gender Unisex
- Syllables 1
- Letters 3
- Popularity Top 1000 (E&W)
- Births on record 10,654
England and Wales
#122
2025 births
Kit is a name of Greek origin meaning "bearer of Christ." It is a pet form of Christopher and Katherine, so it serves both sexes — and it was Christopher Marlowe's everyday name.
- Kit is a name of Greek origin.
- Peaked in US records in 2025, when 403 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade in US records.
- Today about 1 in 1,252 babies in England and Wales is given this name.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Kit over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. Kit is more popular in England and Wales — see the country table below. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 10 |
| 1890s | 13 |
| 1900s | 5 |
| 1910s | 43 |
| 1920s | 104 |
| 1930s | 76 |
| 1940s | 615 |
| 1950s | 1,127 |
| 1960s | 599 |
| 1970s | 422 |
| 1980s | 326 |
| 1990s | 187 |
| 2000s | 172 |
| 2010s | 735 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,828 |
What Kit means
Kit means bearer of Christ when it stands for Christopher. As a short form of Katherine it inherits that name's disputed meaning, usually given as pure.
Where Kit comes from
Kit shortens Christopher, from the Greek Christophoros — Christos and pherein, to carry — a name that produced the legend of the saint who carried the Christ child across a river. It equally shortens Katherine, whose own origin is unsettled: the Greek katharos, pure, is the traditional reading but appears to be a later reinterpretation of an older, unrecovered name. Kit was the standard everyday form of Christopher in Elizabethan England, which is why the playwright Christopher Marlowe is called Kit Marlowe in contemporary references.
Kit in use
Our data records Kit for both sexes and shows it peaking in 2025 — still climbing — at 122 in England and Wales. It first appears in our records in 1880. Its rise belongs to the same British taste for very short names driving Otto, Cleo, Thea and Finn.
How popular is Kit?
In 2025, Kit was given to 421 babies in England and Wales, ranking #122 that year. It is well established in England and Wales.
Where Kit is used
England and Wales figures withhold any name given to fewer than three babies in a year. The historical chart above uses US records, the only series running back to 1880. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Kit
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Kit also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Kit over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Kit 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
- Christopher
- Greek
- Christopher
Sibling names for Kit
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Kit — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Kit
What does the name Kit mean?
"Bearer of Christ" if it stands for Christopher. As a short form of Katherine it inherits that name's disputed meaning.
Is Kit a boy's or a girl's name?
Both. It shortens Christopher for boys and Katherine for girls, and our data records it as unisex.
Was Christopher Marlowe called Kit?
Yes — Kit was the standard everyday form of Christopher in Elizabethan England.
How popular is the name Kit?
In 2025, Kit was given to 421 babies in England and Wales, ranking #122 that year. It is well established in England and Wales.
How many syllables are in Kit?
Kit has 1 syllable.
When was Kit most popular?
Kit peaked in 2025, when 403 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
Is Kit a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Kit currently ranks #122 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.