Kristofer
Masculine · “bearing Christ”
Kristofer is the Scandinavian spelling of Christopher, a Greek name meaning Christ-bearer — and behind it is one of the best-loved legends of the medieval church.
How old is the name Kristofer?
Kristofer first appears in US birth records in 1945 — 80 years ago. The typical Kristofer alive today was born around 1989, making them about 36 years old. About 9,300 people named Kristofer are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kristofer most popular?
Kristofer peaked in 1978, reaching #421 nationally. Today it ranks #3583, 3,162 places below that high. See the whole 1978 chart.
Where it comes from
From Christophoros to Kristofer
The story of Kristofer
Christophoros was an early Christian name whose meaning was spiritual, and the medieval legend took it literally: a giant carries a child across a river and finds him unbearably heavy, because he is carrying the world. That story made Christopher the patron of travelers. Scandinavian and German spellings use K rather than Ch, and Kristofer reaches American records with Nordic families and with the general 1970s fashion for K spellings.
Meaning
bearing Christ
From Greek Christos and pherein, to carry; the name was originally understood to mean carrying Christ in the heart, and the legend of the giant who carried a child across a river grew out of a literal reading of it.
How the name formed
- Christophoros
- Christopher
- Kristofer
Related forms: Christopher · Kristofer · Cristóbal · Khristofor
Pronouncing Kristofer
KRIS-toh-fer
Three syllables, first stressed. Identical in sound to Christopher.
Nicknames for Kristofer
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
- 1945
- Most boys named
- 1978349 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #421reached in 1978
- Change vs 2023
- +10.7%31 in 2025, from 28
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.
Kristofer in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Christopher in English — spelling variant
- Kristofer in Swedish — same name
- Cristóbal in Spanish — same name
- Khristofor in Russian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Florida.
Kristofers among us
people named Kristofer are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 55,099 born in 2025 was named Kristofer
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Kristofer
- #3583
- Kristofer on the 2025 chart
- #63
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Kristofer went to 31 boys in 2025, but Christopher, Kristopher and Cristopher and the rest below are the same name said out loud. Together the 8 spellings went to 5,209, which makes it the 63rd most-given boys’ name of the year — 3,520 places above the chart.
- Christopher4,748
- Kristopher172
- Cristopher126
- Cristofer80
- Kristofer31
and 3 rarer spellings.
About 1 boy in 328 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 55,099 for Kristofer 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 Emmitt test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Kristofer's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Emmitt climbed just as high around 1905, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Emmitt's path sketches the road Kristofer is walking now.
Kristofer 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
Where Kristofer is headed
Kristofer should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Kristofer beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Kristofer in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning with a documented and genuinely good legend attached.
- Kris, Kit and Topher are three quite different short forms to choose from.
- Recognized everywhere in Europe and the Americas.
- Christopher is overwhelmingly the standard spelling and will be written for him.
- Nine letters and three syllables is a fair amount for early handwriting.
- The K spelling is strongly associated with one American decade.
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Kristofer
Masculine · #3583 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Kristofers are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 9,300 people named Kristofer are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Kristofer?
- Kristofer is one of 5 recorded spellings. Christopher is the more common one — 4,748 births in 2025 against 31 for Kristofer.
- How popular is the name Kristofer in 2025?
- Kristofer ranks #3583 among US boy names in 2025, with 31 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Kristofer?
- About 1 in every 55,099 US boys born in 2025 was named Kristofer — 31 in all.
- Will my child share the name Kristofer with classmates?
- Kristofer will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Kristofer
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Geoffrey#3583 · Robinson#3583 · Kimani#3583 · Emre#3583 · Yoan#3583 · Anirudh#3583 · Sutter#3583 · Heber#3583
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kristofer? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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