Topher
A shortened form of Christopher, derived from Greek meaning "bearer of Christ".
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the first name Topher. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Topher today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Topher births was 2013 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Topher. 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
136
~ 1 in 2,520,252 Americans
Peak year
2013
15 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2023 SSA rank
#8,194
Tracked since 2007
Census
Topher in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 241 people with the first name Topher, which placed it at #34,040 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
#34,040
National first-name rank
People counted
241
241 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
82.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Topher
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Topher is White at 82.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.1%). 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 Topher 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 Topher at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.2% · 198
- Hispanic or Latino10.4% · 25
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.1% · 10
- Black or African American2.1% · 5
- Two or more races1.2% · 3
Popularity
Topher: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Topher from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 75 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Topher remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Topher 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 Topher during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Topher
The given name Topher is a diminutive form of the name Christopher, which is derived from the Greek name Χριστοφορος (Christophoros). This name is composed of the Greek words Χριστος (Christos) meaning "Christ" and φερω (phero) meaning "to bear or carry." The name Christopher, therefore, translates to "Christ-bearer" or "one who bears Christ."
The name Topher gained popularity as a shortened version of Christopher in the 20th century, particularly in English-speaking countries like the United States and the United Kingdom. It is believed that this diminutive form emerged as a casual or affectionate nickname for those named Christopher.
While the name Christopher has a long and rich history dating back to ancient times, the specific origins of the diminutive Topher can be traced back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Topher was in the 1896 novel "The Green Carnation" by Robert Hichens, where a character was referred to as "Topher."
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Topher, although it is less common than its parent name Christopher. One of the most famous was Topher Grace, an American actor born in 1978, known for his roles in films like "Spider-Man 3" and the TV series "That '70s Show."
Another notable Topher was Topher Jones, a British actor born in 1986, who has appeared in various television shows and films. Topher Field, born in 1975, is an American actor and producer known for his work in independent films.
In the world of sports, Topher Morris, born in 1985, is a former professional basketball player who played in the NBA Development League and overseas. Topher Browne, born in 1970, is an American politician and businessman who served as the mayor of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, from 2008 to 2016.
While the name Topher is not as widely used as its parent name Christopher, it has gained a unique identity and has been embraced by individuals seeking a more distinctive or casual version of the classic name.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Topher
People
Topher + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Topher as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Topher: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Topher?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 136 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Topher 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 2,520,252 US residents.
Is Topher a common name?
We classify Topher as "Very Rare". It ranks above 68.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 137 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Topher most popular?
The single biggest year for Topher was 2013, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Topher is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Topher in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 241 people with the name Topher, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #34,040 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 Topher 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 Topher?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Topher appears almost entirely male. Of the 247 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Topher?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Topher is White at 82.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.1%). 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 Topher most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Topher in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.2% (198 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 Topher in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Topher a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Topher 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 Topher still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Topher 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 Topher 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 Topher?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.