US Name Trends

Kristen

Latin christiana, “a Christian, a follower of Christ.”

1982peak year
No. 33best rank (1982)
220,952babies since 1880
outside top 1000 in 2025

Popularity, 1880–2025

Babies named Kristen per year — peak 9,534▬ girls ▬ boys18801900192019401960198020002020

Kristen first shows up in the national records in 1938. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American girls in every year from 1969 to 1997. Its biggest year was 1982, when 9,534 newborn girls received the name, ranking it No. 33 nationally. All told, 220,952 Americans have been given the name since 1880.

Related names

Other spellings on record: Christine (588,495), Kristin (180,951), Kristine (84,514), Christen (13,706), Christin (12,217), Kristyn (8,830) (total births since 1880)

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By the decade

DecadeBirthsBest rank
1930s20No. 2300
1940s776No. 632
1950s2,811No. 404
1960s18,039No. 96
1970s44,206No. 45
1980s83,228No. 33
1990s53,075No. 42
2000s12,558No. 142
2010s3,244No. 575
2020s810No. 1279

Births and rank shown for girls, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.

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Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.