Popularity of the name Christopher, 1880–2025
Christopher was at its most popular in 1984, when 60,021 boys were given the name: about 1 in 30 boys born in the U.S. that year, ranking #2. In 2025, 4,748 boys were named Christopher, ranking #68. In all, Social Security counts 2,069,596 boys named Christopher since 1880. Social Security’s records also list 9,507 girls named Christopher.
- Peak year
- 1984
- Rank in 1984
- #2
- Babies in 1984
- 60,021
- Rank in 2025
- #68
- Total since 1880
- 2,069,596
Where it stands now
In the past decade the name slipped from #32 in 2015 to #68 in 2025: 9,853 boys got it in 2015, and 4,748 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Its best decade was the 1970s, when 475,423 boys were named Christopher, #2 for the decade. It ranked #177 in the 1880s and #57 in the 2020s so far.
Every 20 years in the records: 95 in 1880 (#142), 55 in 1900 (#277), 293 in 1920 (#339), 499 in 1940 (#241), 15,361 in 1960 (#29), 49,079 in 1980 (#2), 24,936 in 2000 (#5) and 6,216 in 2020 (#47).
Highs and lows
The most boys given the name in a single year was 60,021, in 1984. Its best rank in any year was #2, first reached in 1972.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1880 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 boys named Christopher, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 95 | #142 |
| 1881 | 68 | #173 |
| 1882 | 89 | #155 |
| 1883 | 89 | #144 |
| 1884 | 68 | #196 |
| 1885 | 71 | #183 |
| 1886 | 66 | #200 |
| 1887 | 56 | #205 |
| 1888 | 79 | #187 |
| 1889 | 71 | #187 |
| 1890 | 66 | #201 |
| 1891 | 62 | #199 |
| 1892 | 100 | #159 |
| 1893 | 93 | #157 |
| 1894 | 72 | #202 |
| 1895 | 60 | #227 |
| 1896 | 73 | #206 |
| 1897 | 57 | #232 |
| 1898 | 43 | #274 |
| 1899 | 42 | #257 |
| 1900 | 55 | #277 |
| 1901 | 34 | #302 |
| 1902 | 47 | #274 |
| 1903 | 50 | #257 |
| 1904 | 43 | #294 |
| 1905 | 50 | #280 |
| 1906 | 49 | #286 |
| 1907 | 52 | #294 |
| 1908 | 54 | #296 |
| 1909 | 50 | #325 |
| 1910 | 70 | #296 |
| 1911 | 83 | #289 |
| 1912 | 151 | #290 |
| 1913 | 157 | #322 |
| 1914 | 200 | #321 |
| 1915 | 242 | #341 |
| 1916 | 260 | #329 |
| 1917 | 263 | #340 |
| 1918 | 272 | #351 |
| 1919 | 262 | #352 |
| 1920 | 293 | #339 |
| 1921 | 291 | #346 |
| 1922 | 307 | #331 |
| 1923 | 294 | #342 |
| 1924 | 297 | #338 |
| 1925 | 286 | #345 |
| 1926 | 270 | #353 |
| 1927 | 285 | #340 |
| 1928 | 266 | #349 |
| 1929 | 273 | #337 |
| 1930 | 267 | #344 |
| 1931 | 237 | #364 |
| 1932 | 244 | #354 |
| 1933 | 205 | #381 |
| 1934 | 271 | #329 |
| 1935 | 269 | #334 |
| 1936 | 277 | #323 |
| 1937 | 294 | #312 |
| 1938 | 308 | #313 |
| 1939 | 359 | #292 |
| 1940 | 499 | #241 |
| 1941 | 618 | #215 |
| 1942 | 813 | #195 |
| 1943 | 888 | #184 |
| 1944 | 1,001 | #170 |
| 1945 | 1,138 | #160 |
| 1946 | 1,599 | #150 |
| 1947 | 2,273 | #127 |
| 1948 | 3,036 | #102 |
| 1949 | 4,000 | #81 |
| 1950 | 4,835 | #72 |
| 1951 | 5,734 | #61 |
| 1952 | 6,302 | #57 |
| 1953 | 6,081 | #63 |
| 1954 | 6,084 | #64 |
| 1955 | 7,922 | #49 |
| 1956 | 8,384 | #47 |
| 1957 | 8,997 | #43 |
| 1958 | 11,079 | #39 |
| 1959 | 12,915 | #35 |
| 1960 | 15,361 | #29 |
| 1961 | 17,223 | #26 |
| 1962 | 17,535 | #26 |
| 1963 | 18,339 | #26 |
| 1964 | 19,627 | #23 |
| 1965 | 24,640 | #18 |
| 1966 | 27,866 | #12 |
| 1967 | 29,413 | #9 |
| 1968 | 31,468 | #9 |
| 1969 | 35,672 | #7 |
| 1970 | 41,747 | #6 |
| 1971 | 48,225 | #6 |
| 1972 | 52,172 | #2 |
| 1973 | 48,313 | #2 |
| 1974 | 48,585 | #3 |
| 1975 | 46,575 | #3 |
| 1976 | 45,190 | #3 |
| 1977 | 46,721 | #3 |
| 1978 | 47,236 | #3 |
| 1979 | 50,659 | #2 |
| 1980 | 49,079 | #2 |
| 1981 | 50,221 | #2 |
| 1982 | 59,223 | #2 |
| 1983 | 59,324 | #2 |
| 1984 | 60,021 | #2 |
| 1985 | 59,609 | #2 |
| 1986 | 56,693 | #2 |
| 1987 | 54,493 | #2 |
| 1988 | 53,014 | #2 |
| 1989 | 53,186 | #2 |
| 1990 | 52,362 | #2 |
| 1991 | 47,111 | #2 |
| 1992 | 42,468 | #2 |
| 1993 | 38,237 | #2 |
| 1994 | 34,807 | #2 |
| 1995 | 32,679 | #3 |
| 1996 | 30,904 | #4 |
| 1997 | 29,108 | #4 |
| 1998 | 27,007 | #5 |
| 1999 | 25,604 | #6 |
| 2000 | 24,936 | #5 |
| 2001 | 23,132 | #5 |
| 2002 | 21,689 | #8 |
| 2003 | 20,753 | #9 |
| 2004 | 19,636 | #10 |
| 2005 | 19,174 | #10 |
| 2006 | 19,688 | #8 |
| 2007 | 20,030 | #6 |
| 2008 | 17,966 | #9 |
| 2009 | 16,368 | #10 |
| 2010 | 14,299 | #13 |
| 2011 | 13,027 | #20 |
| 2012 | 11,921 | #23 |
| 2013 | 10,878 | #26 |
| 2014 | 10,390 | #30 |
| 2015 | 9,853 | #32 |
| 2016 | 9,106 | #36 |
| 2017 | 8,319 | #39 |
| 2018 | 7,341 | #42 |
| 2019 | 7,022 | #44 |
| 2020 | 6,216 | #47 |
| 2021 | 5,863 | #52 |
| 2022 | 5,589 | #55 |
| 2023 | 5,198 | #55 |
| 2024 | 5,082 | #61 |
| 2025 | 4,748 | #68 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.