Christian (given name)

Common card · No. 435641

Christian is a unisex given name. It originated as a baptismal name used by persons of the Christian religion. It derives from the Latin Christianus, meaning "follower of Christ." It has been used as a given name since the Middle Ages. A historically commonly used abbreviation (used for example on English 17th-century church monuments and pedigrees) is Xpian, using the Greek Chi Rho Christogram Χρ, short for Χριστός, Christ. An example is Xpian Rolle, a daughter of George Rolle (d.1552). The Greek form of the baptismal name is Χριστιανός, a Christian. The name denotes a follower of Jesus Christ, thus a Christian. The common noun and adjective christian are found in English starting from the 16th century but the name Christian is found from the 12th century. The Old English form of the noun was christen. In Europe it was almost exclusively used as a male name but in Britain it was more common for females and used interchangeably with the French Christine. It was common for women in Britain...

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