Christian \ch-ris-tian, chr(i)-stian\ as a boy's name (also used as girl's name Christian), is pronounced KRIS-chen. It is of Latin origin, and the meaning of Christian is "follower of Christ". From Latin Christianus, a girl's name in the Middle Ages that became used as a male name, possibly due to the success of John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress" (1684), whose hero is called Christian. The name of Christ is from Greek Khristos which is translated from the Hebrew term for "Messiah", meaning "anointed". The Cr- spellings are Spanish forms. In Denmark the name has been borne by ten kings since the 15th century. A famous bearer was the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875). Actor Christian Slater; French fashion designers Christian Dior, Christian Lacroix; Dr. Christiaan Barnard.

Christian has 25 variant forms: Chrestien, Chretien, Chris, Christan, Christer, Christiano, Christie, Christo, Christos, Christy, Cristian, Cristen, Cristian, Cristiano, Cristino, Criston, Cristos, Cristy, Kit, Kris, Krister, Kristian, Kristo, Krystian and Krystiano.

A baby name that sounds like Christian is Chrystian.