Christof
Barely over a hundred Polish men carry it, and it's fading fast: most Poles will never meet one. The German cousin of Krzysztof, from the Greek for "christ-bearer".
Christof Pronunciation
Christof is pronounced KHREES-tof (/ˈxristɔf/).
What Christof means
Where Christof comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Christof comes from the Greek Christophoros, which joins Christos with the verb pherein, to carry. The literal sense is christ-bearer. German speakers shortened Christophoros to Christof, and the name settled into everyday use across German lands.
The christ-bearer meaning gathered a story around Saint Christopher, the giant who ferried travelers across a river. One night he carried a child who grew heavier with each step. The child was Christ, and the whole world's weight sat on those shoulders. That legend made Christopher a patron of travelers.
In Polish, Christof meets its cousin Krzysztof, the form a teacher reads from a school register in Kraków. The short form is Krzysiek, used between friends. A woman carrying the name becomes Krzysztofa. The Polish gloss stays close to the Greek: niosący chrystusa.
Christof stays legible. The meaning is christ-bearer.
How many people are named Christof
1 in 166767 men in Poland is named Christof. 128 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #2939 among male names.
Christof's popularity over time
Fewer than 2 boys were given the name in 2025. It has been climbing since 2025.
Christof as a middle name
Christof is a first name for 128 men in Poland and a middle name for another 90, a 59/41 split, almost evenly. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 756th, between Chris (90) and Horacy (90).
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#754 Alonso90
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#755 Chris90
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#756 Christof90
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#757 Horacy90
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#758 Kemal90