Christian (given name)

Christian
Pronunciation /ˈkrɪstʃən, -tiən/
French: [kʁistjɑ̃]
German: [ˈkʁɪsti̯an]
Danish: [ˈkʁæsdjan]
Dutch: [ˈkrɪscɑn]
Swedish: [ˈkrɪstjɑːn]
Gender Unisex (Mostly Male)
Origin
Language(s) Egyptian, via Greek and Latin, used to translate Hebrew
Word/name Christianus
Meaning "follower of Christ"
Other names
See also Christian (surname), Christiaan, Cristian, Cristiano

Christian originated as a Baptismal name used by persons of the Christian religion. It is now a given name born by males, and by females as Christiana and other feminized variants. An 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. The name denotes a follower of Christ, thus a Christian. It has been used as a given name since the Middle Ages, at first as a name for females,[2] without any feminising word endings.

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, Denmark, Iceland, and Estonia. Today in Europe — though not the United States — 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.

Female variants of the name include Christine, Christina, Christiane, Cristiane, Kristen, Kristin, and Kirsten. Holders of the name Christian may go by the nicknames or shortened forms Chris, Chrissy, "Crix", or Xian.

In other languages

Characters

Males with the given name Christian

Females with the given name Christian

References

  1. ↑ 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)
  2. ↑ 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
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