• Christopher Rupp's senior year school picture in Detroit, MI (2024)

Christopher is an English male name derived from the Greek name Christóforos meaning “Christ-bearer” (SheKows). Learning that this is the meaning behind my name is very interesting since I do not come from a very religious family and the reason I was named Christopher goes no further than I was named after my dad. Although the meaning of our name doesn’t seem to suit us, they bring us a special bond.

  Throughout the past fifty or so years, Christopher has consistently been a very popular name, although it has fallen off in recent years. From 1972-1995 it was a top 3 most popular name every year (Social). In the year I was born, 2005, Christopher was the 10th most popular name which makes sense to me as I have met a lot of other Christopher’s my age; which I am not a fan of. I don’t like this because I like, not to be different, but to be myself, and when there are a lot of people with the same name, you kind of get grouped in with them. For example, every year since seventh grade, I have had another Christopher/Chris in at least one of my classes and there would be confusion with talking to friends, the teacher, etc. In recent years, 2018 and beyond, the name has ranged from the 42nd-55th most popular name, so it has fallen off significantly.

Personally, I am not fond of having the name Christopher as I feel like it sounds very feminine. The name sounds very soft to me, kind of like a flower, like it’s supposed to be pretty, and not strong and independent like the stereotypical male traits. I started feeling this way in second grade, and the first time I went by Chris was in my second-grade class because there was another Christopher in the class. Not only was it that, but my dad goes by Chris as well, and since I can remember I’ve always wanted to be like him and share the same traits as him. Since this time in second grade, I’ve only gone by Chris and the only people that call me Christopher are my family members. My family does this for the sole reason of avoiding confusion because of my dad. I believe the name Chris fits me better because, from my experiences (heavily influenced by my views of my father), Chris’s tend to be very strong, hard-working, social, and outgoing people, and I like to think of myself as exactly that - strong, hardworking, social, outgoing, and someone people feel comfortable approaching. Although I feel that the name doesn’t fit my dad or me very well, I do plan on naming my first son Christopher to keep the name in my family and to bring my son into the special bond that my dad and I share.

Works Cited

Edelman, Amelia. “Christopher.” SheKnows, 23 Dec. 2020, www.sheknows.com/baby-names/name/christopher/. Accessed 9 Feb. 2025.

Popular Baby Names, www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/babyname.cgi. Accessed 9 Feb. 2025.