Meanings
- A male given name from Ancient Greek.
Am not I Christopher Sly, old Sly's son, of Burtonheath; by birth a pedlar, by education a card-maker, by transmutation a bear-herd, and now by present profession a tinker?
c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act INDUCTION, scene ii]2 more examples
- - - a baby, which also happened to fall due, was baptized "Paul" ( for the church ) "Christopher" ( because St. Christopher had to do with rivers and ferries ), the Rector strenuously resisting the parents' desire to call it "Van Weyden Flood".
1934, Dorothy Sayers, The Nine TailorsA similar impulse sometimes accompanies my reading of the work of Christopher F. Rufo, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute and one of the most gifted conservative polemicists of his generation.
2023 February 10, Graeme Wood, “DEI Is an Ideological Test”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 11 Feb 2023Synonyms: Chip, Chris, Chrissy, Christoph, Christy, Kit, Topher
- A surname originating as a patronymic.
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Ancient GreekΧριστός“Christ”
- Koine GreekΧρῑστόφορος“carrier of Christ”
- Late LatinChristophorus
- EnglishChristopher
From Late Latin Christophorus, from Koine Greek Χρῑστόφορος (Khrīstóphoros, “carrier of Christ”), from Ancient Greek Χριστός (Khristós, “Christ”) + φόρος (phóros, “carrier, bearer”), from φέρειν (phérein, “to carry, to bear”) + -ος (-os, “-er: forming agent nouns”), from the legend of Saint Christopher carrying the infant Jesus across a river.
More words from Late Latin, Koine Greek, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans Christoffel, Christophorus
- Christoffela male given name
- Christophorusa male given name
Arabic كْرِيسْتُوفَر
- كْرِيسْتُوفَر (kristūfar)a male given name
Basque Kristobal
- Kristobala male given name
Bengali ক্রিস্টোফার
- ক্রিস্টোফার (krisṭōphar)a male given name
Bulgarian Хри́сто, Христофор
- Хри́сто (Hrísto)a male given name
- Христофор (Hristofor)a male given name
Catalan Cristòfol
- Cristòfola male given name
Chinese Mandarin 克里斯托弗
- 克里斯托弗 (Kèlǐsituofú)a male given name
Czech Kryštof
- Kryštofa male given name
Danish Christoffer
- Christoffera male given name
Dutch Christoffel, Kristof
- Christoffela male given name
- Kristofa male given name
- Kristoffela male given name
Esperanto Kristoforo
- Kristoforoa male given name
Estonian Kristofer
- Kristofera male given name
Finnish Risto, Kristoferi
- Ristoa male given name
- Kristoferia male given name
French Christophe
- Christophea male given name
German Christoph
- Christopha male given name
Greek Χριστόφορος, Χρήστος
- Χριστόφορος (Christóforos)a male given name
- Χρήστος (Chrístos)a male given name
Hawaiian Kilikopela
- Kilikopelaa male given name
Hebrew כְּרִיסְטוֹפֶר
- כְּרִיסְטוֹפֶר (krístofer)a male given name
Hindi क्रिस्टोफ़र
- क्रिस्टोफ़र (krisṭofar)a male given name
Hungarian Kristóf, Krisztofer
- Kristófa male given name
- Krisztofera male given name
Icelandic Kristófer
- Kristófera male given name
Indonesian Kristofer
- Kristofera male given name
Irish Críostóir
- Críostóira male given name
Italian Cristoforo
- Cristoforoa male given name
Japanese クリストファー
- クリストファー (Kurisutofā)a male given name
Korean 크리스토퍼
- 크리스토퍼 (keuriseutopeo)a male given name
Latin Christophorus
- Christophorusa male given name
Latvian Kristofers, Kristaps
- Kristofersa male given name
- Kristapsa male given name
Lithuanian Kristoforas, Kristupas
- Kristoforasa male given name
- Kristupasa male given name
Malay Kristofer
- Kristofera male given name
Māori Karihitopa
- Karihitopaa male given name
Norwegian Kristoffer
- Kristoffera male given name
Polish Krzysztof
- Krzysztofa male given name
Portuguese Cristóvão
- Cristóvãoa male given name
Russian Христофо́р, Кри́стофер
- Христофо́р (Xristofór)a male given name
- Кри́стофер (Krístofer)a male given name
Scottish Gaelic Crìsdean, Gillechrìost
- Crìsdeana male given name
- Gillechrìosta male given name
- Gille Chrìosta male given name
Slovak Kryštof
- Kryštofa male given name
Spanish Cristóbal
- Cristóbala male given name
Swahili Kristofa
- Kristofaa male given name
Swedish Kristoffer
- Kristoffera male given name
Tagalog Kristobal
- Kristobala male given name
Tamil கிரிஸ்டோபர்
- கிரிஸ்டோபர் (kirisṭōpar)a male given name
Thai คริสโตเฟอร์
- คริสโตเฟอร์a male given name
Turkish Kristof
- Kristofa male given name
Welsh Cristoffer
- Cristoffera male given name
Cite this entry
Christopher. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Christopher
“Christopher.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Christopher. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Christopher,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Christopher.
Source: Christopher on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.