Christopher Explained

Christopher
Gender:	Male
Language:	English
Meaning:	Christ-bearer
Language origin:	Greek
Nickname:	Chris, Kit, Topher

Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (Christophoros or Christoforos). The constituent parts are Χριστός (Christós), "Christ" or "Anointed", and φέρειν (phérein), "to bear";^[1] hence the "Christ-bearer".

As a given name, 'Christopher' has been in use since the 10th century.In English, Christopher may be abbreviated as "Chris", "Topher", and sometimes "Kit".It was frequently the most popular male first name in the United Kingdom, having been in the top twenty in England and Wales from the 1940s until 1995, although it has since dropped out of the top 100. The name is most common in England and not so common in Wales, Scotland, or Ireland.^[2]

People with the given name

Antiquity and Middle Ages

Saint Christopher (died 251), saint venerated by Catholics and Orthodox Christians
Christopher (Domestic of the Schools), Byzantine general
Christopher Lekapenos (died 931), Byzantine co-emperor
Christopher of Antioch (died 967), Greek Orthodox patriarch of Antioch
Christopher I of Denmark (1219–1259), King of Denmark (1252–1259)
Christopher II of Denmark (1276–1332), King of Denmark (1320–1326, 1329–1332)
Christopher of Bavaria (1416–1448), union king of Denmark (1440–1448) as Christopher III, Sweden (1441–1448), and Norway (1442–1448)
Christopher of Werle (died 1425), Prince of the Wends
Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), Italian navigator, explorer, and colonizer who captained the first European ship to reach the Americas

Modern

Christopher (singer) (born 1992), Danish singer
Christopher, Count of Oldenburg (1566)
Christopher, Duke of Brunswick-Harburg (1570–1606)
Christopher, Duke of Mecklenburg (1537–1592)
Christopher of Greece and Denmark (1888–1940), prince, son of George I, King of Greece
Christopher Ross (1931-2023), American sculptor, designer and collector
Christopher of Prague (born 1953), primate-elect of the Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia
Christopher Abbott (born 1986), American actor
Christopher J. Alexis Jr. (born 1996), Grenadian road cyclist
Christopher Auth
Christopher Awdry (born 1940), English author is best known for his contributions to The Railway Series of books featuring Thomas the Tank Engine
Christopher Bartley (born 1963), American psychologist
Christopher Bengtsson (born 1993), Swedish professional ice hockey player
Christopher Briney (born 1998), American actor
Chris Broach (born 1976), American musician, songwriter, and recording artist
Christopher Brooks (disambiguation), multiple people
Chris Brown (born 1989), American singer and songwriter
Christopher Cerf (born 1941), American author, composer-lyricist, voice actor, and record and television producer
Kris Clyburn (born 1996), American basketball player for Maccabi Rishon LeZion of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
Chris Cornell (1964–2017) American musician, songwriter, singer, rhythm guitarist and recording artist
Christopher Cradock (1862–1914), English Royal Navy officer
Christopher Cross (born 1951), American musician
Christopher De Leon (born 1956), Filipino actor and politician
Christopher Dorner (1973–2013), American former LA police officer and spree killer
Christopher Doyle (born 1952), Australian-Hong Kong cinematographer
Christopher Eccleston (born 1964), English actor
Chris Evans (born 1981), American actor
Christopher R. Fee, American medievalist
Christopher Ford, American screenwriter
Christopher E. Gerty (born 1975), American aerospace engineer and aquanaut
Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go (born 1974), Filipino politician
Christopher Guarin, Filipino journalist who was murdered
Sir Christopher Hatton (1540–1591), English politician and 'favourite' of Queen Elizabeth
Christopher Hinton (disambiguation), multiple people
Chris Daugherty (born 1970), American construction worker and reality TV personality
Chris Hemsworth (born 1983), Australian actor
Christopher Hitchens (1949–2011), English American author and journalist
Christopher Isherwood (1904–1986), English American novelist
Christopher Allan Hector Perera Jayawardena, Sri Lankan Sinhala army officer
Christopher Katongo (born 1982), Zambian international footballer
Christopher Lee (disambiguation)
Kristoffer Lindberg (born 1992), Swedish politician
Christopher Lloyd (born 1938), American actor
Christopher Lloyd (screenwriter) (born 1960), American screenwriter
Christopher Maloney (English singer) (born 1977), British singer-songwriter
Christopher Marlowe (1564–1593), English dramatist
Christopher Anthony John "Chris" Martin (born 1977), English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and philanthropist
Christopher Meloni (born 1961), American actor
Christopher Messina (born 1981), American inventor of the hashtag
Christopher Robin Milne (1920–1996), English son of author A. A. Milne
Christopher Morley (1890–1957), American journalist, novelist, essayist, and poet
Christopher Newsom (1983–2007), American murder victim
Christopher Neyor, Liberian energy analyst
Christopher Nolan (born 1970), British-American film director and producer
Christopher Norris (actress), American actress
Christopher Nowinski (born 1978), American professional wrestler
Christopher Ober (born 1954), Canadian-American material scientist
Christopher Ondaatje (born 1933), Sri Lankan Briton businessman and adventurer
Christopher O'Neill (born 1974), husband of Princess Madeleine of Sweden
Christopher Paolini (born 1983), American author
Christopher Stuart Patterson (1842–1924), American Dean of the University of Pennsylvania Law School
Christopher Pike (author) (born 1954), American author
Chris Pine (born 1980), American actor
Christopher Pratt (1935–2022), Canadian painter and printmaker
Chris Pratt (born 1979), American actor
Christopher Plummer (1929–2021), Canadian actor
Christopher Reeve (1952–2004), American actor
Christopher Ruocchio, American author and editor
Christopher Samba (born 1984), former Blackburn Rovers Captain
Christopher Scarver (born 1969), American robber and serial killer; best known for killing Jeffrey Dahmer
Christopher Smart (1722–1771), English poet
Christopher Smith (disambiguation), multiple people
Chris Squire (1948–2015), English bassist (Yes)
Christopher Tingley (born), Arabic translator
Christopher Tolkien (1924–2020), third and youngest son of the author J. R. R. Tolkien
Christopher Tsui, Hong Kong-based businessman and a Champion Thoroughbred racehorse owner
Christopher Walken (born 1943), American actor
Christopher Wallace (1972–1997), American rapper
Chris Whelpdale (born 1987), English professional footballer
Christopher Wilder (1945–1984), American serial killer and rapist
Christopher Woodrow (born 1977), American movie producer
Christopher Wren (1632–1723), English architect
Kit Harington, Game of Thrones actor

People with the surname

Alvin Christopher, British Virgin Islander politician
Ann Christopher (born 1947), British sculptor
Anthony (Tony) Christopher (born 1952), CEO and president of Landmark Entertainment Group
Bostin Christopher, American actor
Byron Christopher (born 1949), Canadian news reporter
Chigozie Christopher (born 1992), Nigerian footballer
Dennis Christopher (born Dennis Carrelli, 1955), American actor
Joe Christopher (1935–2023), American baseball player
Joseph Christopher (1955–1993), American serial killer
Josh Christopher (born 2001), American basketball player
Ted Christopher (1958–2017), American racing driver
Tony Christopher, Baron Christopher (born 1925), British businessman, trade unionist, and tax official
Warren Christopher (1925–2011), 63rd United States Secretary of State
William Christopher (1932–2016), American actor

Fictional characters

Christopher Da Silva, a character from the Silent Hill film franchise
Christopher Ewing, a character from the American TV series Dallas
Christopher Gardener, the main character from the 2006 film The Pursuit of Happyness
Christopher “Chris” Halliwell, son of main character Piper Halliwell of Charmed
Christopher "Chris" Myers, character from The Promise (2016)
Christopher "Chris" Kirkman, a character in Bravest Warriors
Christopher Moltisanti, a character from the American TV series The Sopranos
Christopher Pike, a character in the Star Trek franchise
Christopher Robin, a character from the 1926 novel Winnie the Pooh and its franchise
Christopher "Chris" Traeger, a character from the American TV series Parks and Recreation
Christopher Turk, a character from the American television series Scrubs
Peter Christopher, lead character in the 1960s TV sitcom Occasional Wife
Christopher "Kit" Walker, the real name of the comic character The Phantom
Christopher Wilde, a character from the 2010 film Starstruck
Joshua Christopher from the manga series Chrono Crusade

Cognates in other languages

Afrikaans

Christoffel, Christoforus

Albanian

Kristofer, Kristofor, Kristoforid, Kristo

Arabic

كريستوفر (Krīstafor, Kristūfar, Krístufer), اصطفر (ʔiṣṭufur, ʔiṣṭafur), عبد المسيح (ʕabdu l-masīḥ), خريستو (Ḵrīstū, Ḵrīstaw, Ḵrīstau)

Aragonese

Cristofo

Azerbaijani

Kristofer

Armenian

Քրիստափոր (Christapor, Krisdapor)

Basque

Kristobal

Belarusian

Крыстафер (Krystafier)

Bengali

ক্রিস্টোফার (Krisţophar)

Breton

Kristof, Kristol

Bulgarian

Кристофър (Christofr), Христофор ("Khristofór")

Catalan

Cristòfor

Chinese

克里斯托弗 (Kèlǐsītuōfú), 克里斯多夫(Kèlǐsīduōfū), 克里斯多福 ("Kèlǐsīduōfú)

Cornish

Kitto

Corsican

Cristofanu

Croatian

Kristofor

Czech

Kryštof

Danish

Christoffel, Christoffell, Christoffer, Christofher, Christoph, Christopher, Chriztoffer, Kristofer, Kristofers, Kristoffer, Kristoofer, Kristopher^[3] ^[4]