Christopher
Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος. The constituent parts are Χριστός, "Christ" or "Anointed", and φέρειν, "to bear"; 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. Within the United Kingdom, the name is most common in England and not so common in Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland.
Cognates in other languages
- Afrikaans: Christoffel, Christoforus
- Albanian: Kristofer, Kristofor, Kristoforid, Kristo
- Arabic: كريستوفر, اصطفر, عبد المسيح, خريستو
- Aragonese: Cristofo
- Azerbaijani: Kristofer
- Armenian: Քրիստափոր
- Basque: Kristobal
- Belarusian: Крыстафер
- Bengali: ক্রিস্টোফার
- Breton: Kristof, Kristol
- Bulgarian: Кристофър, Христофор
- Catalan: Cristòfor
- Chinese: 克里斯托弗, 克里斯多夫, 克里斯多福
- Cornish: Kitto
- Corsican: Cristofanu
- Croatian: Kristofor
- Czech: Kryštof
- Danish: Christoffel, Christoffell, Christoffer, Christofher, Christoph, Christopher, Chriztoffer, Kristofer, Kristofers, Kristoffer, Kristoofer, Kristopher
- Dutch: Christoffel, Christoforus, Christophe, Kristof
- Esperanto: Kristoforo
- Estonian: Christoph, Kristof, Kristofer, Kristoffer, Risto
- Faroese: Kristoffur
- Finnish: Kristoffer, Risto
- Flemish: Christoffel, Kristof
- French: Christophe
- Galician: Cristovo
- Genoese: Christoffa
- German: Christoph, Christopher, Christof, Christoffer, Kristof
- Georgian: ქრისტეფორე
- Greek: Χριστόφορος
- Gujarati: ક્રિસ્ટોફર
- Haitian Creole: Kristòf
- Hawaiian: Kilikopela, 'Imiloa
- Hebrew: כריסטופר
- Hindi: क्रिस्टोफर
- Hungarian: Kristóf, Krisztofer
- Icelandic: Kristófer
- Indonesian: Christopher, Christoforus, Kristoforus, Kristo
- Irish: Críostóir
- Italian: Cristoforo
- Japanese: クリストファー
- Kannada: ಕ್ರಿಸ್ಟೋಫರ್
- Korean: 크리스토퍼
- Latin: Christopherus, Christophorus
- Latvian: Kristaps, Kristofers
- Lithuanian: Kristoforas, Kristupas
- Macedonian: Кристофер
- Malayalam: ക്രിസ്റ്റഫർ
- Maltese: Kristofru,
- Marathi: ख्रिस्तोफर
- Middle English: Cristofre
- Mongolian: Кристофер
- Montenegrin: Ристо, Крсто
- Nepali: क्रिस्टोफर
- Norwegian: Kristoffer
- Occitan: Cristòl
- Persian: کریستوفر
- Polish: Krzysztof
- Portuguese: Cristóvão
- Romanian: Hristofor
- Russian: Христофо́р
- Sami language|Sami]: Doffá
- Sardinian: Cristolu
- Scottish Gaelic: Crìsdean
- Serbian: Христофор
- Sicilian: Cristòfuru
- Slovak: Krištof
- Slovenian: Krištof
- Sorbian: Kito
- Spanish: Cristóbal, Cristo, Tobolito, Cristóforo
- Swahili: Gitte
- Swedish: Christoffer, Kristoffer
- Tamil: கிறிஸ்டோபர்
- Telugu: క్రిస్టోఫర్
- Thai: คริสโตเฟอร์
- Turkish: Kristof
- Ukrainian: Христофор, Криштоф
- Urdu: کرسٹوفر
- Venetian: Cristoforo
- Vietnamese: Kristoffer, Christopher
- Welsh: Cristoffis
- Yiddish: טשריסטאָפער
People with the given name
Antiquity and Middle Ages
- Saint Christopher, saint venerated by Catholics and Orthodox Christians
- Christopher (Domestic of the Schools), Byzantine general
- Christopher Lekapenos, Byzantine co-emperor
- Christopher of Antioch, Greek Orthodox patriarch of Antioch
- Christopher I of Denmark, King of Denmark
- Christopher II of Denmark, King of Denmark
- Christopher of Bavaria, union king of Denmark as Christopher III, Sweden, and Norway
- Christopher of Werle, Prince of the Wends
- Christopher Columbus, Italian navigator, explorer, and colonizer who captained the first European ship to reach the Americas
Modern
- Christopher (singer), Danish singer
- Christopher, Count of Oldenburg
- Christopher, Duke of Brunswick-Harburg
- Christopher, Duke of Mecklenburg
- Christopher of Greece and Denmark, prince, son of George I, King of Greece
- Christopher Ross, American sculptor, designer and collector
- Christopher of Prague, primate-elect of the Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia
- Christopher Abbott, American actor
- Christopher J. Alexis Jr., Grenadian road cyclist
- Christopher Auth
- Christopher L. Avery, associate justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court
- Christopher Awdry, English author
- Christopher Bahng, Australian singer, rapper, songwriter and producer
- Christopher Bartley, American psychologist
- Christopher Bengtsson, Swedish professional ice hockey player
- Christopher Briney, American actor
- Chris Broach, American musician, songwriter, and recording artist
- Christopher Brooks (disambiguation), multiple people
- Chris Brown, American singer and songwriter
- Chris Bandak, Palestinian militant and member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
- Chris Caisey, Bermudian footballer
- Christopher Cerf, American author, composer-lyricist, voice actor, and record and television producer
- Kris Clyburn, American basketball player for Maccabi Rishon LeZion of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
- Chris Corbo, American football tight end for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
- Chris Cornell American musician, songwriter, singer, rhythm guitarist and recording artist
- Christopher Cradock, English Royal Navy officer
- Christopher Cross, American musician
- Christopher De Leon, Filipino actor and politician
- Christopher Dorner, American former LA police officer and spree killer
- Christopher Dorst, American water polo player
- Christopher Doyle, Australian-Hong Kong cinematographer
- Christopher Eccleston, English actor
- Chris Evans, American actor
- Christopher R. Fee, American medievalist
- Christopher Ford, American screenwriter
- Christopher E. Gerty, American aerospace engineer and aquanaut
- Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go, Filipino politician
- Christopher Guarin, Filipino journalist who was murdered
- Christopher Hammersley, British fencer
- Sir Christopher Hatton, English politician and 'favourite' of Queen Elizabeth
- Christopher Hinton (disambiguation), multiple people
- Chris Daugherty, American construction worker and reality TV personality
- Christopher Haase, German professional racing driver
- Christopher Harborne, British businessman and technology investor based in Thailand
- Chris Hemsworth, Australian actor
- Christopher Hitchens, English American author and journalist
- Christopher House, Canadian choreographer, performer and educator
- Christopher Hui, Hong Kong politician and government official
- Christopher Isherwood, English American novelist
- Christopher Allan Hector Perera Jayawardena, Sri Lankan Sinhala army officer
- Christopher Katongo, Zambian international footballer
- Sir Christopher Lee,, British actor and singer
- Christopher Lee (disambiguation)
- Kristoffer Lindberg, Swedish politician
- Christopher Lloyd, American actor
- Christopher Lloyd (screenwriter), American screenwriter
- Christopher Maloney (English singer), British singer-songwriter
- Christopher Marlowe, English dramatist
- Christopher Anthony John "Chris" Martin, English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and philanthropist
- Christopher McCreery, Canadian historian
- Christopher McKeown, British Paralympic athlete
- Christopher Meloni, American actor
- Christopher Messina, American inventor of the hashtag
- Christopher Robin Milne, English son of author A. A. Milne
- Christopher G. Moore, Canadian writer
- Christopher Morley, American journalist, novelist, essayist, and poet
- Christopher Newsom, American murder victim
- Christopher Neyor, Liberian energy analyst
- Christopher Nolan, British-American film director and producer
- Christopher Norris (actress), American actress
- Christopher Nowinski, American professional wrestler
- Christopher Ober, Canadian-American material scientist
- Christopher Ondaatje, Sri Lankan Briton businessman and adventurer
- Christopher O'Neill, husband of Princess Madeleine of Sweden
- Christopher Paolini, American author
- Christopher Stuart Patterson, American Dean of the University of Pennsylvania Law School
- Christopher Pike (author), American author
- Chris Pine, American actor
- Christopher Pratt, Canadian painter and printmaker
- Chris Pratt, American actor
- Christopher Plummer, Canadian actor
- Christopher Reeve, American actor
- Christopher Ruocchio, American author and editor
- Christopher Sacchin, Italian diver
- Chris Sanders, American filmmaker
- Christopher Samba, former Blackburn Rovers Captain
- Christopher Scanlon, American politician
- Christopher Scarver, American robber and serial killer; best known for killing Jeffrey Dahmer
- Chris Skelley, British Paralympic judoka
- Christopher Smart, English poet
- Christopher Smith (disambiguation), multiple people
- Chris Squire, English bassist
- Christopher Tingley, Arabic translator
- Christopher Tolkien, third and youngest son of the author J. R. R. Tolkien
- Christopher Tsui, Hong Kong–based businessman and a Champion Thoroughbred racehorse owner
- Christopher Vizzina, American football player
- Christopher Walken, American actor
- Christopher Wallace, American rapper
- Chris Whelpdale, English professional footballer
- Christopher Wilder, American serial killer and rapist
- Christopher Woodrow, American movie producer
- Christopher Wren, English architect
- Chris Wright, United States Secretary of Energy
People with the surname
- Alfred Christopher, British clergyman and cricketer
- Alvin Christopher, British Virgin Islander politician
- Ann Christopher, British sculptor
- Anthony (Tony) Christopher, CEO and president of Landmark Entertainment Group
- Bostin Christopher, American actor
- Brian Christopher, American professional wrestler
- Brian Christopher (lacrosse), American lacrosse player
- Byron Christopher, Canadian news reporter
- Chigozie Christopher, Nigerian footballer
- Dennis Christopher, American actor born Dennis Christopher Carrelli
- Joe Christopher, American baseball player
- Joseph Christopher, American serial killer
- Josh Christopher, American basketball player
- Robin Christopher, American actress
- Robin Christopher (diplomat), British ambassador
- Ted Christopher, American racing driver
- Thom Christopher, American actor
- Tony Christopher, Baron Christopher, British businessman, trade unionist, and tax official
- Sybil Christopher, Welsh actress
- Warren Christopher, 63rd United States Secretary of State
- William Christopher, American actor
Fictional characters
- Christopher Da Silva, from the Silent Hill film franchise
- Christopher Ewing, from the American revival series Dallas
- Christopher Gardner, 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, from the 2016 film The Promise
- Christopher "Chris" Kirkman, in Bravest Warriors
- Christopher Moltisanti, from the American TV series The Sopranos
- Christopher Muse (Triage), a mutant character in Marvel Comics
- Christopher Pike, in the Star Trek franchise
- Christopher Robin, from the 1926 novel Winnie the Pooh and its franchise
- Christopher "Chris" Traeger, from the American TV series Parks and Recreation
- Christopher Turk, from the American TV series Scrubs
- 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
- Peter Christopher, lead character in the 1960s TV sitcom ''Occasional Wife''