Christian is a popular first name and surname in Northern Europe. The use of Christian as a personal name derives from its use to describe followers of Christianity. "Christian" can also mean "Christ Believer". Today in Europe—though not the United States—it is almost exclusively used as a male name, but in the 17th and 18th centuries it was a popular female first name in Scotland. Female versions of the name include Christine, Christina, Christiane, Kristen, Kristin, and Kirsten. Holders of the name Christian may go by the nicknames or shortened forms "Chris," "Chrissy", "Xian" or "Kissa" (in Norwegian).

Christian is the name of

• several kings of Denmark
• several princes
• the protagonist in John Bunyan's allegorical novel The Pilgrim's Progress
• the protagonist in director Baz Luhrmann's jukebox musical film Moulin Rouge! interpreted by Scottish actor Ewan McGregor
• Christian of Oliva, 13th century Cistercian monk and the first bishop of Prussia
• the surname of Fletcher Christian, the leader of the mutineers on the Bounty and the founder of a colony on Pitcairn Island
• a stage name of Canadian professional wrestler Jason Reso. He currently goes by the slightly-extended Christian Cage.
• Hans Christian Andersen, Danish author
• Christian (Christian Fernández Salas) Spanish football defender
• Christian Bakkerud, Danish racing driver
• Christian Bale, Welsh actor
• Christian Ehrhoff, German ice hockey player
• Christian Lacroix, French fashion designer
• Christian Jimenez, American soccer player
• Christian Julius De Meza, a Danish army commander
• Christian Klien, Austrian racing driver
• Christian Okoye, football player
• Christian Pampel, German volleyball player
• Christian Penigaud, French beach volleyball player
• Christian Potenza, Canadian actor
• Christian Serratos, American actress
• Christian Slater, American actor
• Christian Siriano, American fashion designer
• Cristiano Ronaldo, Portuguese footballer
• Cristiano dos Santos Rodrigues, Brazilian footballerOther languages
• Christiaan (Afrikaans)
• Християн (Bulgarian)
• Kristián (Czech)
• Kristjan (Estonian)
• Kristian (Finnish)
• Chrétien (French)
• Crìosdaidh (Gaelic)
• Christian (German)
• Krisztián (Hungarian), for the Danish kings Keresztély
• Kristján (Icelandic)
• Cristiano (Italian)
• Creestee (Manx)
• Krystian (Polish)
• Cristiano (Portuguese)
• Cristian (Romanian)
• Cristián (Spanish)
• Kristian (Swedish)

References