The story in the numbers

147,039 boys have been named Chris in the United States since 1880, according to Social Security records. The busiest single year was 1961, with 7,204 births — 0.34% of all boys recorded that year.

It is holding steady: its share of births has moved by less than half in either direction over ten years (rank 521 → 650).

Half of everyone given the name was born by 1965, and the 1960s alone account for 38%. It has spent 145 of 145 years in the top 1,000, 16 of them in the top 100.

It is overwhelmingly a boy’s name: 22,956 girls have also been given it, 14% of the total.

Rank among boys, year by year

By decade

Decade

boys named Chris

503

396

339

1,103

1,667

1,899

7,166

25,901

56,347

24,859

6,511

5,144

7,669

5,581

1,954

In 1961, its biggest year

Chris was the 57th most given boy’s name that year. The top five boys’ names of 1961 were Michael, David, John, James and Robert. See all of 1961.

Names that rose and fell with Chris

Same sex, most similar popularity curve over 145 years, in five-year steps — the shape of the line, not the size.

Other spellings in the data

What this page does not tell you. The Social Security data records how many babies were given a name, not what the name means or where it comes from — so neither do we. Counts cover people with a Social Security number; names given to fewer than five babies in a year are withheld. More on the data.