Christian (given name) explained

Christian
Pronunciation:
in French kʁistjɑ̃/
pronounced as /de/
in Danish ˈkʰʁestjæn/
in Dutch; Flemish ˈkrɪscɑn/
in Swedish ˈkrɪ̌sːtɪjan/
Gender:Unisex (mostly and originally male)
Language origin:Greek
Origin:Χριστιανός
Meaning:"follower of Christ"
Related Names:Christiaan, Cristian, Cristiano, Chris, Kit
See also:Christian (surname), Christopher

Christian is a unisex given name, which originated as a baptismal name used by persons of the Christian religion. It has been used as a given name since the Middle Ages, originally for males. It was later used for females, without any feminising word endings.

A historically commonly used abbreviation (used for example on English 17th-century church monuments and pedigrees)[1] is Xpian, using the Greek Chi Rho Christogram Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Χρ, short for Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Χριστός, Christ. The Greek form of the baptismal name is Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Χριστιανός, a Christian. The name denotes a follower of Jesus Christ, thus a Christian.

In Europe, it is almost exclusively used as a male name, but in the 17th and 18th centuries, it was a popular female first name in Scotland. Female variants of the name include Christine, Christina, Christiane, Cristiane, Kristen, Cristina, Kristin, and Kirsten.

In other languages

Characters

Males with the given name Christian

Females with the given name Christian

See also

Notes and References

  1. For example, Xpian Rolle, a daughter of George Rolle (d.1552), as written in the Heraldic visitation of Devon, 1620 (Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, p.652)
  2. Web site: St. Christian of Cologne . catholicreadings.org . 16 April 2019 . Kenyan Life.

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