The Christian surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 54,198 people carried this name — #626 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 5,440 people counted. That is up 6% from 51,177 in 2000.
In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890
Ireland registered 12 births for the Christian name in 1890.
Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 500 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born, 1890
Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 242 people named Christian.
39 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 37 départements, most often Paris.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 57 people named Christian live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Liège.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
55 people named Christian live in Switzerland.
They live in 6 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In the Nordic population registers
31 people named Christian is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
In print
Christian in American newspapers,
1908–1921.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 3,789,088 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Christian,
with a public archive behind them.
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Mauatua d. 1841 · textile artist
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Garth Christian d. 1967 · ornithologist
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Eberhard Christian d. 1452 · tailor
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Steve Christian d. 2017 · executive producer
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Frank Christian d. 1704 · artisan
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Emily Christian d. 1937
Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Christian.
- Christal 417 · U.S. census
- Christe 245 · U.S. census
- Christel 460 · U.S. census
- Christen 3,813 · U.S. census
- Christensen 75,143 · U.S. census
- Christiaens 173 · U.S. census
- Christin 268 · U.S. census
- Christine 1,418 · U.S. census
- Christmann 764 · U.S. census
- Christodoulou 452 · U.S. census
- Christoffel 447 · U.S. census
- Christol 101 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Christian is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.