Cristobal
- Pronunciation
- [Cris-to-bal]
- Gender
- Male
- Meaning
- Spanish Form Of Christopher Christ Bearer
- Origin
- Spanish
About the Name Cristobal
Cristobal is the Spanish form of Christopher, carrying the cherished meaning "Christ-bearer" from the Greek elements behind the original name. Steeped in centuries of religious tradition, it evokes the legend of the saint who carried the Christ child across a river — a story of devotion, strength, and protection that has made the name beloved across the Spanish-speaking world for generations. It is a name that carries faith, family, and centuries of devotion in its very sound.
Its appeal lies in its rich, rolling cadence — Cris-to-bal — and its strong cultural heritage. The name feels both deeply traditional and warmly distinctive in an English-speaking context, offering families a meaningful, melodic alternative to the far more familiar Christopher. It carries a sense of legacy and faith while sounding handsome and dignified, a name with real presence and history behind it. The result is a name rich in meaning, music, and quiet dignity.
Cristobal first entered the US Social Security top-1000 for boys in 2000 and reached its peak in 2001 at rank #708. It last appeared in the top-1000 in 2007, at rank #919, with roughly 1,172 boys given the name across that span — a steady presence through the early 2000s that reflects its enduring place in Hispanic naming traditions and its quiet, dignified appeal.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration name data, 1880–2024 (methodology). By Marvin Tang.
Quick Facts About Cristobal
US Popularity History (2000–2007)
Annual US births named Cristobal by gender, from US Social Security Administration records. Peak year: 2001 with 249 boys named Cristobal (boy rank #708 that year).
Where it stands today: in 2007, ranked #919 for boys (215 US births). That's 211 places below its 2001 peak.
Source: US Social Security Administration. Limitations: US birth-certificate data only; names appearing fewer than 5 times in a given year are suppressed for privacy; spelling variants are counted separately. For names that ranked outside the US top 100 before year 2000, only the years they reached the top 100 are shown — the chart may have gaps for less-popular historical names.
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Compare Cristobal to Other Popular Names
Side-by-side popularity charts and crossover years for Cristobal against today's most popular boys-name peers (top 8 by US births in the last 10 years of SSA records).