Cris
A diminutive of Christopher, ultimately from the Greek name Χριστοφόρος meaning "bearer of Christ".
Name Census estimates that about 3,416 living Americans carry the first name Cris. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 73.4% of registrations being male. The average person named Cris today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cris births was 1960 (190 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cris. 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 Cris with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.4K
~ 1 in 100,338 Americans
Peak year
1960
190 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,942
Tracked since 1885
Census
Cris in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 6,019 people with the first name Cris, which placed it at #3,450 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
#3,450
National first-name rank
People counted
6.0K
6,019 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
52.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cris
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cris is White at 52.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (31.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (8.7%). 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 Cris 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 Cris at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White52.1% · 3,136
- Hispanic or Latino31.2% · 1,876
- Asian and Pacific Islander8.7% · 522
- Black or African American5.4% · 323
- Two or more races2.1% · 125
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 37
Gender
Gender distribution for Cris
Cris is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 4,113 total registrations, 3,019 (73.4%) were male and 1,094 (26.6%) were female.
Cris as a male name
- Ranked #5,942 in 2024
- 15 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1960 (115 births)
Cris as a female name
- Ranked #13,810 in 2024
- 6 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1960 (75 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Cris on both sides of the split. Of the 6,025 people counted with this name, 4,473 were male (74.2%) and 1,552 were female (25.8%).
Popularity
Cris: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cris from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 1,264 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cris 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 Cris during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Cris' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 17 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Cris, while Wisconsin, New Jersey, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 67 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cris
The name Cris has its origins in the Latin language and is derived from the name Christianus, which means "a Christian" or "follower of Christ." The name Christianus itself is rooted in the Greek word "Christos," meaning "anointed one," which refers to Jesus Christ.
The name Cris emerged as a shortened form of the name Christianus during the Middle Ages in various European regions with strong Christian traditions. It was particularly common in areas where Latin was widely used, such as Italy, Spain, and France.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cris can be found in the writings of the 12th-century Italian philosopher and theologian, St. Thomas Aquinas, who mentions a person named "Cris" in his works.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Cris. One of the most famous was Cris Velasco (1923-2014), a renowned Mexican painter and muralist known for his vibrant depictions of indigenous Mexican culture and traditions.
Another notable figure was Cris Aravan (1892-1973), a Romanian poet and journalist who played a significant role in the cultural and literary movements of his time. His poetry explored themes of love, nature, and the human experience.
In the world of sports, Cris Carter (born 1965) is a former American football player who had a successful career in the National Football League (NFL) and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013.
Cris Villongas (1955-1995) was a prominent Filipino human rights activist and journalist who fought against the oppressive regime of Ferdinand Marcos. He was killed for his activism and became a symbol of resistance against injustice.
Lastly, Cris Kabongo (born 1992) is a professional basketball player from the Democratic Republic of Congo who has played in various leagues around the world, including the NBA G League and leagues in France and Greece.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Cris throughout history, highlighting its diverse cultural and geographical roots.
People
Cris + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cris 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
Cris: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cris?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,416 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cris 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 100,338 US residents.
Is Cris a common name?
We classify Cris as "Rare". It ranks above 95.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,113 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cris most popular?
The single biggest year for Cris was 1960, when 190 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cris 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 Cris in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 6,019 people with the name Cris, or 1.99 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,450 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 Cris 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 Cris?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Cris on both sides of the split. Of the 6,025 people counted with this name, 4,473 were male (74.2%) and 1,552 were female (25.8%). 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 Cris?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cris is White at 52.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (31.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (8.7%). 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 Cris most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Cris in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.1% (3,136 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 Cris in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cris a male name?
Yes, 73.4% of people registered as Cris in the SSA data are male. 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 Cris still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cris 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 Cris 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 Americans are named Cris?
See how many Americans are named Cris on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.