Given name & surname
Cris
“follower of Christ”·“one who bears Christ inside”
Cris is a variant of Christina. One English interpretation is “follower of Christ.” In English use, Cris is a diminutive of Christopher. One Greek interpretation is “one who bears Christ inside.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Cris is a variant of Christina. One English interpretation is “follower of Christ.” In English use, Cris is a diminutive of Christopher. One Greek interpretation is “one who bears Christ inside.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Cris is a variant of Christina. Christina has been associated with Latin and Middle English naming traditions. In English use, Cris is a diminutive of Christopher. An origin associated with Christopher is Greek.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In English usage, Cris is a diminutive of Christopher. In English usage, Cris is a diminutive of Christine.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1885. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Cris through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 4,127
- 3,033 boys · 1,094 girls
- Most popular year
- 1960
- 190 babies
- 2025
- 14
- #6,196 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +18%
- Rising
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 97% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 14 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 6,196 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 10.0% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 115 in 1960. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (5). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 6,025 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.
Cris’s family of names
In English usage, Cris is a diminutive of Christopher. In English usage, Cris is a shortened form of Christine. In English usage, Cris is a shortened form of Christopher.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 7
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 5
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Cris
- CrisBrazilian association football playerborn 1977
- Cris CyborgBrazilian mixed martial artistborn 1985
- Cris WilliamsonAmerican musicianborn 1947
- Cris CabAmerican singer-songwriterborn 1993
- Cris HuertaPortuguese actor1935–2004
- Cris SilvaBrazilian association football playerborn 1993
- Cris CarterAmerican football player (born 1965)
- Cris MiróArgentinian vedette (1965–1999)
- Cris ViannaBrazilian actressborn 1977
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Cris, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Craig
“from the rocks; from the crag”
>99% boys
Chip
“one who bears Christ inside”
>99% boys
Russ
“a little red-haired boy”
>99% boys
Cliff
“from the town near the cliff” · “from the ford near the cliff”
>99% boys
Christoph
“one who bears Christ inside”
>99% boys
Skip
“the master of a ship”
>99% boys
Arnie
“resembling an eagle” · “the eagle ruler”
>99% boys
Rich
“a powerful ruler”
>99% boys