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Krzysztof

The third most-given boy's name in Poland, even as it slips: fewer than 900 newborns last year against the hundreds of thousands of men already carrying it. Its Greek root was built to mean "bearing Christ".

Krzysztof Pronunciation

Krzysztof is pronounced KSHIHSH-tof (/ˈkʂɨʂtɔf/).

Related names
Kristof Krzysiek
Alive in 2025
636,785
Newborns 2025
878
National rank
#3
Next name day
25 July
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What Krzysztof means

Where Krzysztof comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.

The name comes from Greek Christophoros, built from Christos and a verb meaning "to bear," so it reads as "bearing Christ." Polish reshaped that ancient compound into Krzysztof. The short gloss, niosący Chrystusa, keeps the old sense.

The legend of Saint Christopher gave the meaning a face. In the story he carries a child across a river and finds the weight almost too great, because the child turns out to be Christ. That saint became a patron of travelers, and the name spread west as Christoph and further as Christopher.

In Poland the name lives in several forms. Friends shorten it to Krzysiek. A daughter might carry the feminine Krzysztofa.

On the official form at the urząd, the full Krzysztof still means niosący Chrystusa.

When Krzysztof celebrates name day

Krzysztof appears 9 times in the Polish name day calendar, 1 of them as a main name, the first on 25 July.

Next name day
25 July
Sunday in 2027
Next one in 273 days
Name days

The days Polish calendars list this name on. By custom you celebrate one of them, usually the first after your birthday.

Also celebrates

Rarer dates. Only the most complete calendars add this name on these days. Most skip them, so hardly anyone celebrates then.

How many people are named Krzysztof

1 in 34 men in Poland is named Krzysztof. 636,785 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #3 among male names.

People with the name Krzysztof 2019 → 2025
636,785 −22,685 since 2019
2020 658,274 −1,196
2021 654,442 −3,832
2022 649,962 −4,480
2023 645,674 −4,288
2024 641,408 −4,266
2025 636,785 −4,623

Krzysztof's popularity over time

878 boys were given the name in 2025, ranking #76 among newborns. It has been falling steadily since 2000. Still the #3 name among living men, even as it slips to #76 among newborns.

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878 newborns with the name Krzysztof in 2025
national rank #76 that year

Where parents choose Krzysztof

Krzysztof is most popular in Podlaskie, 36% above the national average (399 boys born 2019–2025), followed by Masovian (+20%) and Holy Cross (+14%). It is least common in Lubusz and Opole, 29% and 25% below average respectively.

Chosen most
  • Podlaskie
    +36%
    1 in 165 babies
  • Masovian
    +20%
    1 in 187 babies
  • Holy Cross
    +14%
    1 in 197 babies
Chosen least
  • Lubusz
    −29%
    1 in 316 babies
  • Opole
    −25%
    1 in 299 babies
  • Greater Poland
    −22%
    1 in 286 babies

Krzysztof as a middle name

Krzysztof is a first name for 636,785 men in Poland and a middle name for another 330,379, a 66/34 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 7th, between Józef (381,053) and Adam (279,662).

As a first name
636,785
As a middle name
330,379
first name 66% middle name 34%
Middle-name ranking men

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