Given name · also Latin
Christiaan
Christiaan is a masculine given name from Latin, ultimately from Ancient Greek. It is used in Dutch.
Meaning & origin
Where it comes from
Christiaan comes from Latin, and ultimately from Ancient Greek.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
From Latin Chrīstiānus, from Ancient Greek Χρῑστιᾱνός.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1964. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Christiaan through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 886
- 886 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1968
- 43 babies
- 2025
- 7
- #9,895 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 7 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 9,895 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,059 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Christiaan’s family of names
Christiaan has a related form in Christian. In Dutch usage, Christiaan has a conventional equivalent in the English form Christian. In Dutch usage, Christiaan has a conventional equivalent in the Czech form Kristián.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Christiaan has relatives in 4 languages. Lines run from its Ancient Greek roots to each of them.
3 related names in 4 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 15
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Christiaan
- Christiaan HuygensDutch mathematician, physicist and astronomer (1629–1695)
- Christiaan EijkmanDutch physician (1858–1930)
- Christiaan BarnardSouth African cardiac surgeon1922–2001
- Christiaan Hendrik PersoonGerman mycologist (1761-1836)
- Christiaan de WetBoer general, rebel and politician (1854-1922)
- Christiaan Snouck HurgronjeDutch orientalist (1857–1936)
- Chris BergerDutch sprinter (1911–1965)
- Beyers NaudéSouth African anti-apartheid activist and theologian (1915–2004)
- Christiaan CornelissenDutch economist (1864-1942)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Christiaan, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Demon
Demon is a masculine given name from Ancient Greek.
>99% boys
Theron
“a great hunter”
99% boys · 1% girls
Cristoffer
Cristoffer is a masculine given name from Ancient Greek. It is used in Swedish and Welsh.
>99% boys
Dion
“of the sacred spring” · “an honest man”
95% boys · 5% girls
Tito
“of the giants” · “a great defender”
>99% boys
Kyriakos
Kyriakos is a masculine given name from Ancient Greek, ultimately from Greek.
>99% boys
Phillipp
“fond of horses”
>99% boys
Terence
“learned” · “instigator”
>99% boys