Christopher Family History

English, German, West Indian (mainly Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, and British Virgin Islands), and African (mainly Nigeria and Tanzania): from the English and German personal name Christopher from Greek Christophoros ‘Christ-bearing’ (see Christ). This was borne by a rather obscure 3rd-century Christian martyr. His name was relatively common among early Christians who desired to bear Jesus Christ metaphorically with them in their daily lives.

Subsequently, the name was explained by a folk etymology according to which the saint carried the infant Christ across a ford and so became the patron saint of travelers. Despite the widespread veneration and depiction of this saint, this was not a very common personal name in medieval England and may in some instances have a habitational origin for someone living, for example, in Saint Christopher parish (Saint Christopher le Stocks, London).

In North America, the English form of the surname has absorbed the German variant Christoffer and cognates from other languages, e.g., Hungarian Kristóf and Czech, Slovak, Slovenian, and Croatian Krištof (see Kristof). The usual German form of the name is Christoph.