christen
/ˈkɹɪsən/verb
christen is spelled C-H-R-I-S-T-E-N: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,363rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, christen means “To perform the religious rite of baptism upon; to baptize” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in christen?
| Letters | 8: C-H-R-I-S-T-E-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 45,363rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is christen?
Christen appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,363rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce christen?
- /ˈkɹɪsən/
Christen has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-christen.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of christen
- christens present, singular, he/she/it
- christening participle, present
- christened participle, past
- christian
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does christen mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To perform the religious rite of baptism upon; to baptize.
The new baby was christened at the village church.
- 2
To name.
I christen this ship the Bonny Barnacle.
- 3
obsoleteTo Christianize.
- 4
colloquialTo use for the first time.
I christened my new boots today with a walk in the snow.
- 5
informalTo douse or wet with blood, urine, tears, or other liquid.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Christen in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | baptiser , nommer |
| German | taufen |
| Portuguese | batizar |
| Spanish | acristianar, bautizar, cristianar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does christen come from?
From Middle English cristenen, cristnien, from Old English cristnian (“to christen, baptise”), from cristen (“Christen, Christian”) + -nian. Cognate with Saterland Frisian kristenje (“to christen”), Dutch kerstenen (“to christen”), Middle Low German kristenen, kerstenen, karstenen (“to christen”), Danish kristne (“to christen”), Swedish kristna (“to christen”), Icelandic kristna (“to christen”). By surface analysis, Christ + -en.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).