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Christian originated as a baptismal name used by persons of the Christian religion. It is now a given name borne by males, and by females as Christiana and other feminized variants. A historically commonly used abbreviation (used for example on English 17th-century church monuments and pedigrees)[1] is Xpian, using the Greek Chi Rho Christogram Χρ, short for Χριστός, Christ. The Greek form of the baptismal name is Χριστιανός, a Christian. It can also be derived from the Greek Χριστός, Christ, and Ioannes, Greek form of John.[dubious – discuss] The name denotes a follower of Jesus Christ, thus a Christian. It has been used as a given name since the Middle Ages, originally a male given name. It was later used for females,[2] without any feminising word endings.
Pronunciation | English: /ˈkrɪstʃən, -tiən/ French: [kʁistjɑ̃] German: [ˈkʁɪsti̯a(ː)n] Danish: [ˈkʰʁestjæn] Dutch: [ˈkrɪscɑn] Swedish: [ˈkrɪ̌sːtɪjan] |
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Gender | Unisex (mostly and originally male) |
Origin | |
Language(s) | Egyptian, via Greek and Latin, used to translate Hebrew |
Word/name | Christianus |
Meaning | "follower of Christ" |
Other names | |
Related names | Christiaan, Cristian, Cristiano, Chris, Ian, John, Kit |
See also | Christian (surname), Christopher |
Today, the name is popular in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Romania, Denmark, Iceland, Estonia, Bulgaria and the Philippines. In Europe, it is almost exclusively used as a male name, but in the 17th and 18th centuries, it was a popular female first name in Scotland.[citation needed]
Female variants of the name include Christine, Christina, Christiane, Cristiane, Kristen, Cristina, Kristin, and Kirsten. Holders of the name Christina may go by the nicknames or shortened forms Chris, Chrissy, Tina, or Xian.
In other languages
- Christianus (Latin)
- Chrétien (disambiguation) (French)
- Christian (Danish, German, Norwegian, French, Swedish)
- Christiaan (Afrikaans, Dutch)
- Karsten (Low German, Dutch)
- קריסטלעך (Qrystlʻk) (Yiddish)
- נוצרי (Hebrew)
- Crisdean (Gaelic)
- Creestee (Manx)
- Cristiano (Italian and Portuguese)
- Cristian or Cristián (Spanish, Romanian; Romance languages)
- Kristian (Czech, Slovak)
- Kristian (Estonian, Finnish, Danish, Norwegian, Croatian or Swedish, Breton)
- Kristjan (Estonian, Faroese, Slovenian)
- Kristian, Kristi, Kristo (Albanian)
- Kristján (Icelandic)
- Kristijan Croatian
- Kristian (Malaysian)
- Kristiāns, Krišjānis, Krišs (Latvian)
- Kristijonas (Lithuanian)
- Krystian (Polish)
- Krisztián, Keresztény, for the Danish kings Keresztély (Hungarian)
- Χριστιανός, Christianós (Greek)
- Кристиан (Russian)
- Християн (Ukrainian)
- Христиан (Serbian)
- Кристијан, Kristijan or Христијан, Hristijan (Macedonian)
- Християн, Христиан, Кристиян or Кристиан (Bulgarian)
- քրիստոնյա (Armenian)
- كريستيان (Arabic)
- مسیحی (Persian)
- عیسائی (Urdu)
- খ্রীষ্টান (Khrishtan) Bengali
- ক্রিস্টান (Krishtan) Sylheti
- ईसाई (Īsā'ī) (Hindi)
- ख्रीष्टियन (Khrīṣṭiyana) (Nepali)
- ਮਸੀਹੀ (Masīhī) (Punjabi)
- ಕ್ರಿಶ್ಚಿಯನ್ (Kriściyan) (Kannada)
- క్రిస్టియన్(Krisṭiyan) (Telugu)
- கிரிஸ்துவர் (Kiristuvar) (Tamil)
- คริสเตียน (Khris̄teīyn) (Thai)
- 克里斯蒂安 (Kèlǐsīdìān) (Chinese Simplified)
- 克里斯蒂安 (Kèlǐsīdìān) (Chinese Traditional)
- クリスチャン (Kurisuchan) (Japanese)
- 크리스천 (Keuliseucheon) (Korean)
- Karaitiana (Maori)
- ක්රිස්තියානි ( Kristiyani) ( Sinhala language) Sinhala
Characters
- Christian, protagonist of The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
- Baron Christian de Neuvillette, a character in the play Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand
- Christian Cage (born 1973), ring name of professional wrestler and actor Jay Reso
- Christian Shephard, a character on the ABC series Lost
- Christian Troy, a character on the FX original series Nip/Tuck
- Christian, a character in Diana Wynne Jones' fantasy novel Black Maria
- Christian Grey, a character from E. L. James novel 50 Shades of Grey
- Christian, a character in the movie Moulin Rouge!
Males with the given name Christian
- Saint Christian of Cologne, died AD 1002, abbot of St-Pantaleon in Cologne (Germany)[3]
- Saint Christian of Clogher, died AD 1138, bishop of Clogher (Ireland) and brother of St. Malachy
- Several kings of Denmark
- Several princes
- Christian of Oliva, 13th century Cistercian monk, first bishop of Prussia
- Christiaan Huygens, Dutch astronomer, physicist, mathematician and inventor
- Christian IX of Denmark (1818-1906), King of Denmark (1863-1906)
- Christian X of Denmark (1870-1947), King of Denmark (1912-1947) and Iceland (1918-1944)
- Christian Abbiati (born 1977), Italian footballer
- Christian Alexander (born 1990), American actor
- Christian Augustus, Count Palatine of Sulzbach (1622–1708), German ruler
- Christian Bables (born 1992), Filipino actor
- Christian Baciotti, French musician
- Christian Bakkerud (1984–2011), Danish racing driver
- Christian Bale (born 1974), English actor
- Christian Barmore (born 1999), American football player
- Christian Bauman (born 1970), American writer
- Christian Bautista (born 1981), Filipino singer
- Christian Benford (born 2000), American football player
- Christian Benteke (born 1990), Belgian footballer
- Christian Bergman (born 1988), American baseball player
- Christian Bethancourt (born 1991), Panamanian baseball player
- Christian Biet (1952–2020), French theatrical scholar
- Christian Bizot (1928–2002), French winemaker, head of the Bollinger Champagne house
- Christian Bonaud (1957–2019), French Islamologist
- Christian Boros (born 1964), German advertising agency founder and art collector
- Christian Braun (born 2001), American basketball player
- Christian Bryant (born 1992), American football player
- Christian Clemens (born 1991), German footballer
- Christian Cooke (born 1987), English actor
- Christian Corrêa Dionisio (born 1975), Brazilian football player
- Christian Daniel, Puerto Rican singer-songwriter
- Christian Danner (born 1958), German racing driver
- Christian Darrisaw (born 1999), American football player
- Christian DiLauro (born 1994), American football player
- Christian Dior (1905–1957), French fashion designer
- Christian Doppler (1803–1853), Austrian mathematician and physicist
- Christian Ehrhoff (born 1982), German ice hockey player
- Christian Elliss (born 1999), American football player
- Christian Fernández Salas, Spanish football player
- Christian Fittipaldi (born 1971), Brazilian racing driver
- Christian Fox (born 1981), Scottish footballer
- Christian Friedrich (baseball) (born 1987), American baseball player
- Christian Fuchs (born 1986), Austrian footballer
- Christian Garcia (born 1985), American baseball player
- Christian Gonzalez (born 2002), American football player
- Christian Hackenberg (born 1995), American football player
- Christian Hall (2001–2020), Asian-American man killed by police
- Christian Harris (born 2001), American football player
- Christian Heidel (born 1963), German football executive
- Christian Holmes (born 1997), American football player
- Christian Hosoi (born 1967), skateboarder
- Christian Jessen (born 1977), English doctor and television presenter
- Christian Johnson (born 1986), American football player
- Christian Kern (born 1966), Austrian businessman and politician
- Christian Kirk (born 1996), American football player
- Christian Kum (born 1985), Dutch footballer
- Christian Lacroix (born 1951), French fashion designer
- Christian Latouche (born 1939/1940), French billionaire businessman
- Christian Louboutin (born 1964), French footwear designer
- Christian Jimenez (born 1986), American soccer player
- Christian Julius de Meza, Danish army commander
- Christian Kälin, Swiss lawyer and businessman
- Christian Klien (born 1983), Austrian racing driver
- Christian Koloko (born 2000), Cameroonian basketball player
- Christian Laettner (born 1969), American basketball player
- Christian Lindner (born 1971), German politician
- Christian Lindner (born 1959), German journalist
- Christian Maldini (born 1996), Italian footballer
- Christian Matthew (born 1996), American football player
- Christian McCaffrey (born 1996), American football player
- Christian Miller (American football) (born 1996), American football player
- Christian Navarro (born 1991), American actor
- Christian Okoye (born 1961), American football player
- Christian Pampel (born 1979), German volleyball player
- Christian Panucci (born 1973), Italian footballer
- Christian Penigaud (born 1964), French beach volleyball player
- Christian Ponder (born 1988), American football player
- Christian Potenza (born 1972), Canadian actor
- Christian Pulisic (born 1998), American footballer
- Christian Quéré (1955–2006), French football player
- Christian Redl (born 1948), German actor and musician
- Christian Reiher (born 1984), German mathematician
- Christian Riganò (born 1974), Italian footballer
- Christian Rosenmeier (1874-1932), American politician
- Christian Rozeboom (born 1997), American football player
- Christian Sam (born 1996), American football player
- Christian Scotland-Williamson (born 1993), American football player
- Christian Siriano (born 1985), American fashion designer
- Christian Sitepu (born 1986), Indonesian basketball player
- Christian Slater (born 1969), American actor
- Christian Tămaș (born 1964), Romanian writer and translator
- Christian Taylor, American athlete
- Christian Terlizzi (born 1979), Italian footballer
- Christian Uphoff (born 1998), American football player
- Christian Vasquez (born 1977), Filipino actor
- Christian Vieri (born 1973), Italian footballer
- Christian Villanueva (born 1991), Mexican professional baseball player
- Christian von Koenigsegg (born 1972), Founder and CEO of Koenigsegg Automotive
- Christian Wade (born 1991), British American football and rugby player
- Christian Watson (born 1999), American football player
- Christian Wilkins (born 1995), American football player
- Christian Wirth (1885–1944), German Nazi SS concentration camp commander
- Christian Wulff (born 1959), German politician
- Christian Yelich (born 1991), American baseball player
- Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875), Danish author
- A ring name of Canadian wrestler Jay Reso
- Christian Eriksen (born 1992), Danish professional footballer
Females with the given name Christian
- Christian Maclagan (1811–1901) Scottish Antiquarian
- Christian Pitre (born 1983), Actress
- Christian Ramsay (1786–1839), British botanist
- Christian Serratos (born 1990), American actress
References
- ^ For example, Xpian Rolle, a daughter of George Rolle (d.1552), as written in the Heraldic visitation of Devon, 1620 (Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, p.652)
- ^ Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006), A Dictionary of First Names, Oxford Paperback Reference (2nd ed.), Oxford University Press, p. 55, ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1
- ^ "St. Christian of Cologne". catholicreadings.org. Kenyan Life.