boy's name
Kristopher
KRIS-tuh-fur
- Origin English
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 3
- Letters 10
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 67,209
Northern Ireland
#416
2010 births
Kristopher means Christ-bearer, and the legend built the meaning backward — a giant who carried a child across a river turned out to be carrying Christ, which is the story explaining the name. The legend came after the metaphor, not before it.
- Kristopher is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1978, when 2,536 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 19,275 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1947.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Kristopher over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1940s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1940s | 23 |
| 1950s | 426 |
| 1960s | 1,628 |
| 1970s | 13,968 |
| 1980s | 20,229 |
| 1990s | 13,815 |
| 2000s | 7,762 |
| 2010s | 4,392 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,305 |
What Kristopher means
Kristopher means bearing Christ. The Greek joins the title Christ to a verb meaning to carry, so the name describes an act rather than a quality.
Where Kristopher comes from
Kristopher respells Christopher, from the Greek Christophoros — Christos joined to pherein, to carry, the same root as in metaphor and amphora. Early Christian use meant carrying Christ inwardly, in the heart. The legend of the giant ferryman who carries a child growing impossibly heavy across a river is a later literalization of that metaphor, and it made Christopher the patron of travelers.
Kristopher in use
Kristopher peaked in the United States in 1978, when 2,536 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It charts in exactly one of the six markets we track, at 1188th in the United States on 172 births, across 67,209 lifetime births. Our records carry it from 1947, so the whole of its history is postwar.
How popular is Kristopher?
In 2025, Kristopher was given to 172 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Kristopher 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 Kristopher
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Kristopher also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Kristopher over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Kristopher
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.
Kristopher 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
- Other forms
- Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
- Kristoffer Cristofer
Sibling names for Kristopher
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Kristopher — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Kristopher
What does the name Kristopher mean?
Christ-bearer — the Greek Christos joined to pherein, to carry.
Is the river legend the origin?
The other way round. The legend literalises a metaphor about carrying Christ in the heart.
Is metaphor related?
Yes — the same Greek pherein, to carry.
How popular is Kristopher?
1188th in the United States, down from a 1978 peak of 2,536 births.
Is Kristopher a girl's or a boy's name?
Kristopher is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Kristopher?
Kristopher has 3 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Kristopher?
Kristopher is usually shortened to Kris.
Is Kristopher a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Kristopher currently ranks #1,188 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.