Christopher

Christ-bearer.

Christopher means ‘Christ-bearer’. Its Greek roots and Christian transmission give this masculine name a clear devotional history. The consonants at the start lend the full form a substantial, formal sound, softened by the syllables that follow. The meaning also became a story. In the legend of Saint Christopher, he helps travellers across a river and carries a child who reveals himself as Christ. That image of a person carrying another through difficult water gives the name a particular cultural resonance, beyond a brief definition. It belongs to the saint’s legend rather than to a historical account of every detail of his life.

Etymology: From Greek Christophoros, ‘bearing Christ’, transmitted through ecclesiastical Latin.