Christiana
A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "Christian" or "follower of Christ".
Name Census estimates that about 10,145 living Americans carry the first name Christiana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Christiana today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Christiana births was 1996 (309 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Christiana. 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 Christiana with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
10K
~ 1 in 33,786 Americans
Peak year
1996
309 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,224
Tracked since 1882
Census
Christiana in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 11,995 people with the first name Christiana, which placed it at #2,195 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
#2,195
National first-name rank
People counted
12K
11,995 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
4.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
41.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Christiana
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Christiana is White at 41.3%. The next largest groups are Black (36.2%) and Hispanic (12.4%). 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 Christiana 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 Christiana at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White41.3% · 4,957
- Black or African American36.2% · 4,346
- Hispanic or Latino12.4% · 1,488
- Two or more races5.5% · 661
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.0% · 477
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 66
Popularity
Christiana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Christiana from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 2,818 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Christiana 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 Christiana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Christianas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 36 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Christiana, while Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oregon recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 203 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Christiana
The name Christiana has its origins in Christianity and is a feminine form of the name Christian, which means "follower of Christ." It is derived from the Latin word "Christianus," which itself comes from the Greek word "Christianos," meaning "a Christian."
The name Christiana gained popularity during the early centuries of Christianity, particularly in regions where the religion had spread, such as parts of Europe and the Middle East. It was often given to girls born into Christian families as a symbol of their faith and religious identity.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Christiana can be found in the works of the early Christian writer Tertullian, who lived in the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries. He mentioned a woman named Christiana in his writings, suggesting that the name was in use during that time.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Christiana. One of the most famous was Christiana of Sweden (1626-1689), a Swedish queen regnant who reigned from 1632 to 1654. She was known for her intellectual pursuits and her promotion of the arts and sciences during her reign.
Another notable Christiana was Christiana Mariana von Ziegler (1695-1760), a German writer and translator who was recognized for her contributions to the development of the German language and literature.
In England, Christiana Edmunds (1828-1907) was a prominent educator and philanthropist who founded the Church Extension Association, which aimed to build new churches and schools in underprivileged areas.
The name Christiana also appears in literature, most notably in John Bunyan's famous allegorical work "The Pilgrim's Progress" (1678). In the book, Christiana is the wife of Christian, the main character, and she embarks on her own spiritual journey following her husband's footsteps.
Another literary figure named Christiana is the character from the novel "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" by Anne Brontë (1820-1849). In the book, Christiana is the daughter of the main character, Helen Graham, and her abusive husband, Arthur Huntingdon.
While the name Christiana has its roots in Christianity, it has been embraced by people of various religious backgrounds throughout history, reflecting its enduring popularity and appeal.
People
Christiana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Christiana 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
Christiana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Christiana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10,145 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Christiana 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 33,786 US residents.
Is Christiana a common name?
We classify Christiana as "Uncommon". It ranks above 97.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10,873 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Christiana most popular?
The single biggest year for Christiana was 1996, when 309 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Christiana is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Christiana in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 11,995 people with the name Christiana, or 3.97 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,195 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 Christiana 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 Christiana?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Christiana appears almost entirely female. Of the 11,997 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Christiana?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Christiana is White at 41.3%. The next largest groups are Black (36.2%) and Hispanic (12.4%). 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 Christiana most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Christiana in the 2020 Census, accounting for 41.3% (4,957 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 Christiana in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Christiana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Christiana 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 Christiana still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Christiana 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 Christiana 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 named Christiana?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.