Cris
Masculine · “anointed”
Cris is given to both — 3,033 boys and 1,094 girls since 1880. See Cris as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Cris looks to an English reader like Chris with a letter missing. To a Spanish or Italian one it looks completely normal, because those languages have never written an h in this name at all. Cristian, Cristina, Cristobal, Cristo: no h anywhere. The English spelling is the odd one, carrying a piece of Greek costume that the Romance languages took off centuries ago.
How old is the name Cris?
Cris first appears in US birth records in 1885 — 140 years ago. The typical Cris alive today was born around 1967, making them about 58 years old. About 2,500 people named Cris are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Cris most popular?
Cris peaked in 1960, reaching #725 nationally. Today it ranks #6143, 5,418 places below that high. See the whole 1960 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Greek christos, meaning anointed to Cris
The story of Cris
The best-known American Cris chose the spelling and kept it. Cris Carter was christened with the full Greek name and played sixteen seasons as a wide receiver, most of them in Minnesota, catching more touchdown passes than all but a handful of men who have ever played the game; he was cut early in his career, rebuilt himself, and went into the Hall of Fame with the short spelling on the plaque. The abbreviated form on a bronze plaque is a small thing and not a common one — institutions prefer full names — and it is the reason a great many Americans have seen this spelling in print at all.
Meaning
anointed, through Christ
The Greek word behind it means anointed and was a translation of a Hebrew title. Latin wrote the initial Greek letter as ch, and English kept that spelling in every derivative — Christ, Christian, Christopher, chrism. Spanish, Italian and Portuguese simplified it to a plain c and never looked back, so the h-less spelling that reads as a shortcut in English is the ordinary written form for several hundred million people. In the American record Cris is strongest in exactly the states you would expect, which is the clearest sign of where it comes from.
How the name formed
- Greek christos, meaning anointed
- Latin writes the first letter as ch
- Spanish, Italian and Portuguese drop the h
- Cris in American records from the 1880s
- peaks around 1960 and holds on quietly
Related forms: Cristian · Cristiano · Chris · Cristo
Pronouncing Cris
KRISS
One syllable, exactly like Chris. Spanish speakers may give the r a tap and the vowel a purer sound, but the two spellings are never distinguished out loud.
Nicknames for Cris
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1885
- Most boys named
- 1961105 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #725reached in 1960
- Change vs 2023
- −39.1%14 in 2025, from 23
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Cris in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Cristian in Spanish — related form
- Cristiano in Portuguese — related form
- Chris in English — spelling variant
- Cristo in Italian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas.
Criss among us
people named Cris are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 122,005 born in 2025 was named Cris
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Cris
- #6143
- Cris on the 2025 chart
- #516
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Cris went to 14 boys in 2025, but Chris, Kris and Khris are the same name said out loud. Together the 4 spellings went to 487, which makes it the 516th most-given boys’ name of the year — 5,627 places above the chart.
About 1 boy in 3,507 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 122,005 for Cris itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Mariano test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Cris's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Mariano climbed just as high around 1912, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Mariano's path sketches the road Cris is walking now.
Cris sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Cris beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Cris in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Four letters, one syllable, and no ambiguity of any kind in speech.
- It works in English and Spanish equally well, which few short names manage.
- It suits a child of either sex, and the record carries it on both sides.
- English speakers will add the h back on every form he ever fills in.
- It reads as a nickname to people who do not know the Spanish spelling, and they will ask what it is short for.
- There is no long form on the certificate to fall back on unless one is given deliberately.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Cris
Masculine · #6143 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Criss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,500 people named Cris are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Cris?
- Cris is one of 4 recorded spellings. Chris is the more common one — 431 births in 2025 against 14 for Cris.
- How popular is the name Cris in 2025?
- Cris ranks #6143 among US boy names in 2025, with 14 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Cris?
- About 1 in every 122,005 US boys born in 2025 was named Cris — 14 in all.
- Will my child share the name Cris with classmates?
- Cris will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Cris
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ruel#6143 · Cornell#6143 · Vasco#6143 · Kemper#6143 · Yates#6143 · Roark#6143 · Raja#6143 · Orville#6143
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Cris? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Cris and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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