Christi
A feminine given name of Greek origin meaning "follower of Christ".
Name Census estimates that about 18,263 living Americans carry the first name Christi. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Christi today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Christi births was 1974 (940 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Christi. 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 Christi with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
18K
~ 1 in 18,768 Americans
Peak year
1974
940 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
1973 SSA rank
#5,217
Tracked since 1940
Census
Christi in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 19,323 people with the first name Christi, which placed it at #1,636 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
#1,636
National first-name rank
People counted
19K
19,323 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
6.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
85.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Christi
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Christi is White at 85.7%. The next largest groups are Black (4.6%) and Hispanic (4.2%). 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 Christi 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 Christi at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.7% · 16,564
- Black or African American4.6% · 896
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 813
- Two or more races3.3% · 630
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 264
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 156
Gender
Gender distribution for Christi
Out of the 20,932 babies given the name Christi 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.
Christi as a male name
- Ranked #5,217 in 1973
- 5 male births in 1973
- Peak: 1961 (6 births)
Christi as a female name
- Ranked #12,393 in 2024
- 7 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1974 (940 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Christi appears almost entirely female. Of the 19,328 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Christi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Christi from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 8,428 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
Christi 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 Christi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Christis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 42 states and territories. Texas, California, Ohio recorded the most babies named Christi, while Connecticut, Nevada, New Mexico recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 436 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Christi
The given name Christi is derived from the Greek word "Christos," which means "anointed one" or "the Messiah." This name has its roots in Christianity and has been in use since ancient times. It is a feminine form of the name "Christian," which is derived from the same Greek word.
The name Christi can be traced back to the early days of Christianity, when it was used to refer to followers of Christ or those who were dedicated to the Christian faith. In the early centuries of the Christian era, the name became more popular and was adopted by many individuals as a way to express their religious beliefs.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Christi can be found in the writings of the early Christian theologian and philosopher, Origen of Alexandria (c. 184-253 AD). He mentioned a woman named Christi who was a member of the Christian community in Alexandria.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Christi. One of the most famous was Christi of Avila (1515-1582), a Spanish Roman Catholic nun who was a prominent figure in the Counter-Reformation and is revered as a Doctor of the Church.
Another notable figure was Christi of Sweden (1626-1689), a Swedish princess and abbess who played a significant role in the cultural and religious life of 17th-century Sweden.
The name Christi was also borne by Christi Maria Rennefalk (1668-1728), a Swedish author and poet who is considered one of the pioneers of Swedish feminist literature.
In the 19th century, Christi Nilsson (1843-1921) was a renowned Swedish operatic soprano who achieved international fame for her performances in the operas of composers such as Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner.
More recently, Christi Yamaguchi (born 1971) is an American figure skater and Olympic gold medalist who has also become a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist.
While the name Christi has its roots in Christianity, it has been adopted by individuals of various faiths and cultures throughout history, reflecting its enduring appeal and the cross-cultural influence of Christian tradition.
People
Christi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Christi 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
Christi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Christi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 18,263 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Christi 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 18,768 US residents.
Is Christi a common name?
We classify Christi as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 20,932 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Christi most popular?
The single biggest year for Christi was 1974, when 940 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Christi is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Christi in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 19,323 people with the name Christi, or 6.40 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,636 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 Christi 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 Christi?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Christi appears almost entirely female. Of the 19,328 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Christi?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Christi is White at 85.7%. The next largest groups are Black (4.6%) and Hispanic (4.2%). 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 Christi most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Christi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.7% (16,564 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 Christi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Christi a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Christi 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 Christi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Christi 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 Christi 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 have the name Christi?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.