Christa
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "follower of Christ".
Name Census estimates that about 29,668 living Americans carry the first name Christa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Christa today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Christa births was 1986 (1,518 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Christa. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Christa with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Compared to the 1970s, recent registration numbers for Christa have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
30K
~ 1 in 11,553 Americans
Peak year
1986
1,518 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
1987 SSA rank
#6,227
Tracked since 1912
Census
Christa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 32,797 people with the first name Christa, which placed it at #1,195 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#1,195
National first-name rank
People counted
33K
32,797 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
10.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
82.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Christa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Christa is White at 82.0%. The next largest groups are Black (7.4%) and Hispanic (5.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Christa described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Christa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.0% · 26,891
- Black or African American7.4% · 2,425
- Hispanic or Latino5.3% · 1,745
- Two or more races3.3% · 1,084
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 453
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 199
Gender
Gender distribution for Christa
Out of the 32,851 babies given the name Christa since 1880, 99.9% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Christa as a male name
- Ranked #6,227 in 1987
- 6 male births in 1987
- Peak: 1971 (6 births)
Christa as a female name
- Ranked #7,293 in 2024
- 15 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1986 (1,513 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Christa appears almost entirely female. Of the 32,795 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Christa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Christa from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 10,409 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Christa by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Christa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Christas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Christa, while Hawaii, Wyoming, Alaska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 574 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Christa
The name Christa is a feminine given name derived from the Greek word "Christos," which means "the anointed one" or "the one touched by divine grace." This name has its roots in the early Christian tradition and is closely associated with the figure of Jesus Christ.
The earliest recorded use of the name Christa can be traced back to the 4th century, when it appeared in various Christian texts and records. It was particularly popular among early Christian communities in the Mediterranean region, including Greece, Italy, and parts of the Middle East.
One of the earliest known historical figures to bear the name Christa was Christa of Tyre, a Christian martyr who lived in the 3rd century AD. She was renowned for her unwavering faith and was eventually put to death for refusing to renounce her beliefs during the persecution of Christians under the Roman Empire.
In the Middle Ages, the name Christa gained popularity across Europe, particularly in areas with strong Christian traditions. Notable figures from this period include Christa of Stade (c. 1200-1249), a German mystic and Benedictine nun renowned for her visions and spiritual writings.
During the Renaissance and Reformation periods, the name Christa continued to be used in various parts of Europe, with several notable figures bearing this name. One such example is Christa Rebel (c. 1498-1577), a German artist and engraver known for her intricate woodcuts depicting religious scenes and portraits.
In the 19th century, the name Christa experienced a resurgence in popularity, particularly in German-speaking regions. One notable figure from this period was Christa Winsloe (1888-1944), a German writer and playwright whose works explored themes of feminism and LGBTQ+ identity.
Another prominent figure in the 20th century was Christa Wolf (1929-2011), a renowned German novelist and essayist. Her works often explored themes of East German identity and the complexities of life under the communist regime.
While the name Christa has its roots in the Christian tradition, it has been embraced by individuals from various cultural backgrounds and belief systems over the centuries, reflecting its enduring popularity and diverse appeal.
People
Christa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Christa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Christa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Christa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 29,668 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Christa going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 11,553 US residents.
Is Christa a common name?
We classify Christa as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 32,851 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Christa most popular?
The single biggest year for Christa was 1986, when 1,518 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Christa is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Christa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 32,797 people with the name Christa, or 10.86 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,195 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Christa in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Christa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Christa appears almost entirely female. Of the 32,795 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Christa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Christa is White at 82.0%. The next largest groups are Black (7.4%) and Hispanic (5.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Christa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Christa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.0% (26,891 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Christa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Christa a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Christa in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Christa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Christa in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Christa can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Christa?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.