Chris

Meaning: Christ-bearer
Origin: Greek — Short form of Christopher

Boy's name · #646 in the US (2025) · Retro

Popularity over time

Chris's best rank, #55, came in 1966; it has stepped well back to #646 today. Roughly 147,000 boys have been named Chris since 1880. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records.

Across the states

See where Chris is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 27 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

See how Chris ranks in other countries and regions.

#146 in Puerto Rico (2025) · #275 in Ecuador (2025) · #332 in Netherlands (2025) · #432 in Ireland (2025) · #433 in Italy (2024) · #441 in New Zealand (2025) · #492 in Norway (2025) · #605 in Poland (2025) · #674 in Switzerland (2025) · #741 in Canada (2025) · #851 in France (2025) · #914 in England & Wales (2025) and 6 more.

Famous Chrises

Chris Pratt — American actor (born 1979)
Chris Pine — American actor (born 1980)
Chris Evans — American actor (born 1981)
Chris Hemsworth — Australian actor (born 1983)
Chris Brown — American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor (born 1989)
Chris Cornell — American musician (1964–2017)
Chris Martin — English singer-songwriter (born 1977)
Chris Rea — English musician and producer (1951–2025)
Chris Tucker — American actor and comedian (born 1971)
Chris Paul — American basketball player (born 1985)

In stories & tradition

Chris Griffin — Fictional character from the Family Guy franchise
Chris Redfield — Resident Evil character
Chris Taub — House M.D. (TV series)

What Chrises become

Among 9,479 notable people named Chris:

Sports figures appear 2.21× more often than among typical names — e.g. Chris Smalling, English footballer (born 1989).

Similar names: Kristopher · Lance · Creed · Jamie · Dennis · Kent

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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