I don’t get it, would it be like calling your kid “Jewish” or something? Are they trying to get a double blessing on the kid?
In my particular case, it’s because (a) it’s a traditional name historically in the religious group I was born into (Anabaptist), and (b) I was born on Easter Sunday.
Now, as to why (a) is true, that might take some checking into–but the tradition is old enough that there may not be a good reason other than the tradition itself to be found …
(Ah, you’re asking about “Christian” used as a person’s first name. Took me a second to get that.)
I don’t know for sure, but I can think of two possibilities:
One of my WAGs is that it relates to the once-common practice of naming children after virtues or characteristics one hoped they would possess, which is the origin of names like “Faith,” “Grace,” and “Joy.”
My other WAG is that the name arose from John Bunyan’s classic allegory The Pilgrim’s Progress, in which the main character is named Christian (because it’s an allegory, and that’s what he’s supposed to represent). At one time this book was extremely popular and may have given people the idea of naming their own sons “Christian.”
Christian means “believer in Christ;” Christopher means “follower of Christ.”
Both names go very far back in history. Christophers are traditionally named in honor of the 3rd century saint Christopher. Think of Christopher Columbus. There’s a 12th century St. Christian as well. Both names are simply honorifics no different from the variations on Peter or Paul.
And in Hispanic cultures, Jesus is an extremely common first name.
It’s true there is no direct equivalent in Judaism, but that’s because the religion isn’t named after an individual. Jewish traditional names of Moses, Aaron, Adam, Noah, Solomon, and David abound.
And Muhammad is the most common name in Muslim cultures for boys and Fatima for girls.
Similar practices can be found in the majority of cultures worldwide and throughout history.
Also note that adjective “christian” and given name “Christian” are identical only by chance. In old english “Christian” (name) was written as “Cristen”.
The adjective and noun “Christian” was also written as cristen in Old English. The proper name comes directly from the adjective and/or noun.
Actually, “Christopher” means “Christ bearer”. It’s based on a legend that St. Christopher carried a child, who turned out to be Jesus, across a river. (cite)
Heh. “Hi, I’m Jewish Johnson.”
Maybe not Jewish, but what about Jude, or Judah?
Jude, Judah, Judith, Judas, and Judd, as well as Yehudi and Yehudit, are all derivatives of the Hebrew word for praise or praised. I saw it also as admired on one site.
There’s also the Jude who was the brother of James and wrote a short book of the bible.
Sorry about Christopher. I must have picked that up at one of the online sites I visited. Christ-bearer is indeed correct.
Actually, didn’t the term “Jew” or “Jewish” derive from the name “Judah”?
My BIL is Kristian - I believe the spelling may have been altered to distance it from the religion but the two major parties involved in picking the name - my mother-in-law and father-in-law - have differing stories. He goes by Kris. His best friend for many years was another Christian who went by Chris.
My best friend from early childhood had a sister named Christian (Chrissie). She was named after several generations of female Christians in their family.
I think it’s a nice sounding name with a reasonable nickname (Chris) and I’d just totally overlook the connection to Christianity if I had ever chosen to pass it on to a child (not going to happen). Even though the origins of the name may derive from Christianity, I’d just treat it as though it were a homonym. People don’t literally interpret the name Mark to mean “Blemish”, so why does Christian have to mean “a Christian”? Ok, there’s an obvious difference in that Christian probably came from “follower of Christ” where Mark vs. mark is just a coincidence, but I still think it’s only significant if you make it so. I don’t expect Scarlett to be red, I don’t expect Melody to be able to carry a tune and I don’t expect Christian to be a follower of Christ.
Over time the specific etymological intent behind a name morphs into a name derived from ancestors, or just because it “sounds nice” to the mother or father. Christian was relatively uncommon when I was born in 1958, but it has become much more popular over the years.
This site will give the popularity rank of baby names over time. Christian has risen from 377th in 1958 to 22nd most popular today.
From the Online Etymology Dictionary:
Lots of Scandinavian guys are named Kristian; it’s the same name. If they meant to distance it from the religion, they just moved over a few countries instead.
I’ve always liked the name a lot, but due to our last name, any “Chris” names are unusable. Well, also we didn’t have any boys.
A Jewish Johnson?
I guess you could tell, easy enough…
Also note that adjective “christian” and given name “Christian” are identical only by chance. In old english “Christian” (name) was written as “Cristen”.
That’s the main reason, I think. In German (similar to the Scandinavian language mentioned above), the name is “Christian” (male) or “Christine” (female), but the noun for a follower of the religion is “Christ” (male) or “Christin” (female) (adjective is “christlich” - being christian). Thus, you can be named “Christine” without identifying yourself as “Christin”, but as atheist or whatever (a girl I know).
“Israel” used to be a common Jewish name (I still see it around, but it’s not as popular as it used to be). Historicaly, besides being a varient of Jacob it also refers not to the country but rather to the “children of Israel”, and thus to the Jewish people. In that sense, it’s a direct equivalent of “Christian”.
One of the most frequently cited early Islamic scholars was named Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj al-Qushayri (c. 821-875), who is so famous they just cite him by his first name alone, e.g. “Muslim says…” and everyone knows who is meant. However, giving “Muslim” as a first name is rare, which is why this individual sticks out.
Lose the turtleneck.