Cristofer
A masculine name from the Late Greek "Christophoros", meaning "bearer of Christ".
Name Census estimates that about 4,184 living Americans carry the first name Cristofer. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Cristofer today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cristofer births was 2008 (263 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cristofer. 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.
People living today
4.2K
~ 1 in 81,920 Americans
Peak year
2008
263 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,719
Tracked since 1970
Census
Cristofer in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,351 people with the first name Cristofer, which placed it at #5,194 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
#5,194
National first-name rank
People counted
3.4K
3,351 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
85.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cristofer
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cristofer is Hispanic at 85.1%. The next largest groups are White (11.6%) and Black (1.6%). 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 Cristofer 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 Cristofer at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino85.1% · 2,851
- White11.6% · 390
- Black or African American1.6% · 53
- Two or more races0.9% · 31
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 7
Popularity
Cristofer: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cristofer from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 1,956 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cristofer 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 Cristofer during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Cristofers live
The SSA's state-level files cover 28 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Cristofer, while Michigan, Massachusetts, Arkansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 101 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cristofer
The name Cristofer finds its origins in the Greek language, derived from the words "Christos" meaning "anointed" and "phero" meaning "to bear". It is a masculine name that translates to "bearer of Christ" or "Christ-bearer". The name has its roots in early Christianity and was initially used by Greek-speaking Christians in the Eastern Roman Empire.
During the spread of Christianity across Europe, the name Cristofer gained popularity in various regions. In different languages and cultures, it underwent slight variations in spelling and pronunciation, leading to forms like Christopher, Cristoforo, and Cristóbal. These variations emerged as the name was adopted and adapted by various linguistic communities.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cristofer appears in the 3rd century, referring to a Christian martyr known as Saint Christopher. According to legend, Saint Christopher was a man of great stature who helped travelers cross a treacherous river, only to discover that he had carried the Christ child on his shoulders. This story contributed significantly to the name's widespread use and popularity among Christians.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Cristofer or its variations. In the 15th century, Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer famous for his voyages across the Atlantic Ocean, made a significant impact on world history. Another figure was Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593), an English playwright and poet who was a contemporary of William Shakespeare.
In the realm of science, Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723) was an English architect, astronomer, and mathematician who designed numerous iconic buildings, including St. Paul's Cathedral in London. Christopher Polhem (1661-1751), a Swedish scientist and inventor, made significant contributions to the development of mechanical engineering.
The name Cristofer also holds religious significance, as seen in the case of Saint Christopher of Licia (3rd century), a Christian martyr venerated in both the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. Another notable figure is Christopher the Christ-Bearer (7th century), a Christian hermit and saint revered in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
People
Cristofer + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cristofer 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
Cristofer: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cristofer?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,184 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cristofer 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 81,920 US residents.
Is Cristofer a common name?
We classify Cristofer as "Rare". It ranks above 96.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,242 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cristofer most popular?
The single biggest year for Cristofer was 2008, when 263 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cristofer is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Cristofer in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,351 people with the name Cristofer, or 1.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,194 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 Cristofer 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 Cristofer?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cristofer appears almost entirely male. Of the 3,353 people counted with this name, 99.4% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Cristofer?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cristofer is Hispanic at 85.1%. The next largest groups are White (11.6%) and Black (1.6%). 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 Cristofer most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Cristofer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.1% (2,851 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 Cristofer in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cristofer a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cristofer 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 Cristofer still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cristofer 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 Cristofer 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 share the name Cristofer?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Cristofer on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.