US baby names · Boys · 1880–2025
Christopher: name popularity by year
How often US parents chose Christopher for a baby boy, year by year, from Social Security Administration records. When it peaked, how long it stayed in the top 10, and which generation it belongs to.
Christopher was one of the 10 most common boys' names in the US in 43 years, between 1967 and 2009, reaching #2. Births peaked in 1984, when 60,021 baby boys were named Christopher, so by peak year it is a Millennials name.
Christopher in the US top 10, by year
Rank among boys' names, #1 at the top. Blank years: outside the top 10. Dashed line: the year with the most babies named Christopher (1984).
Top-10 years by generation
| Generation | Years in top 10 | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| Generation X | 14 (1967–1980) | #2 |
| Millennials | 16 (1981–1996) | #2 |
| Generation Z | 13 (1997–2009) | #4 |
Every top-10 year
Questions people ask
When was the name Christopher most popular?
By number of babies, in 1984, when 60,021 boys were given the name. By rank, it reached #2 and spent 43 years in the top 10.
What generation is the name Christopher?
Its peak year, 1984, falls in Millennials (1981–1996). Its 43 top-10 years fall in: Generation X (14), Millennials (16), Generation Z (13).
How many people have been named Christopher?
SSA counted 2,069,596 boys named Christopher born from 1880 to 2025. That is births, not people alive today, and it misses many people born before 1937 who never applied for a Social Security card.
In the top 10 at the same time
Source: US Social Security Administration baby-name data, from Social Security card applications for births in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, 1880–2025. Many people born before 1937 never applied for a card, so early years undercount. Spellings are counted separately. We hold each year's top 10 in rank order and each name's peak-year and all-time counts, so the chart shows rank rather than births per year. This page gives no meaning or origin for the name and no estimate of how many people named Christopher are alive today.