Cristen vs Cristopher
American parents have registered 11,898 Cristophers since 1880, against 2,781 Cristens. Cristopher is still ahead, with 126 babies in 2025.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Cristen Cristopher
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Of the 75 years in which either name was published, Cristopher for 68 years and Cristen for 7 years. The lead changed hands 6 times.
- 1950–1968 Cristopher ahead
- 1969–1970 Cristen ahead
- 1971–1973 Cristopher ahead
- 1974 Cristen ahead
- 1975–1979 Cristopher ahead
- 1980–1983 Cristen ahead
- 1984–2025 Cristopher ahead
Side by side
| Cristen | Cristopher | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 2,781 | 11,898 |
| Most in one year | 153 | 576 |
| Babies in 2025 | under 5 | 126 |
| Estimated living today | 2,700 | 12,000 |
| Median age today | 41 | 21 |
| Peak year | 1982 | 2007 |
| Best rank | 966th girls | 470th boys |
| Rank in 2025 | unranked | 1,425th |
| First recorded | 1958 | 1950 |
| Girls / boys | 2,655 / 126 | 0 / 11,898 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Cristens alive today are over 41; half the Cristophers are over 21. That is 20 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Where each one is strongest
- Cristen Texas (3.1×), California (2.4×), Georgia (1.7×)
- Cristopher Nevada (3.9×), California (3.1×), Texas (2.4×)
How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Cristen and Cristopher.