Kristof
Only 87 men in Poland use this exact spelling, so most Poles have never met one. It's a rare form of Krzysztof, from the Greek for "christ-bearer", and it's barely given to newborns now.
Kristof Pronunciation
Kristof is pronounced KREES-tof (/ˈkristɔf/).
What Kristof means
Where Kristof comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Kristof begins in Greek. The name Christophoros joined Christos to the verb pherein, to carry, and yielded a plain sense: christ-bearer, in Polish niosący chrystusa. Polish reworked that root into Krzysztof, the form printed on most birth certificates, while the spelling Kristof stays nearer the Greek.
The christ-bearer meaning has a face behind it. Saint Christopher, in the medieval legend, ferried a child across a swollen river and found he had carried Christ. The Church made him a patron of travelers, and later of drivers, and his name-day falls on 25 July. A boy named Kristof shares a feast with truckers and long-distance walkers.
Among friends the name shortens fast. Krzysiek is what he answers to.
So one name holds two registers. In a school register the teacher reads the full form aloud, Kristof or Krzysztof, and the boy across the room already knows he will be Krzysiek by the second week. The long Greek word for a saint who waded a river, and the short Polish nickname niosący chrystusa gave the room.
How many people are named Kristof
1 in 245358 men in Poland is named Kristof. 87 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #3776 among male names.
Kristof's popularity over time
Fewer than 2 boys were given the name in 2025. It has been stable for a decade.
Kristof as a middle name
Kristof is a first name for 87 men in Poland and a middle name for another 40, a 69/31 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 1256th, between Jair (40) and Milosz (40).
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#1254 Inocenty40
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#1255 Jair40
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#1256 Kristof40
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#1257 Milosz40
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#1258 Niklas40