Christian name
"christian-name" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Christian name” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 14
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A first name formally given to a child at a Christian baptism.
Corpus desk
Index EN-christian-name · Christian name · English
Christian name · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 14 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "C" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Christian name |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 14 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “Christian name” in English
Rare enough to double-check
Christian name is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.
Christian name doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Christian + name. The correct English form is Christian name, spelled C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-N- -N-A-M-E.
Definition
- 1A first name formally given to a child at a Christian baptism.
- 2Any forename.
- 3An English given name, particularly for ethnic Chinese who usually have a separate Chinese name.
- 4A baptismal name or confirmation name used in religious contexts, but not part of the legal name.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how Christian name appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
This was all overheard by Miss Dashwood; and in the whole of the sentence, in his manner of pronouncing it, and in his addressing her sister by her christian name alone, she instantly saw an intimacy so decided, a meaning so direct, as marked a perfect agreement between them.
On 8th November Anthony cabled them, ‘Your great-grandson Randal Lewis Casson arrived to-day. Both well,’ and we sent, ‘Congratulations on becoming great-grandparents.’ Anthony and Janneke had kept the proposed Christian names a complete secret, and we were all so touched that they had chosen two which belonged so much to the family.
Etymology
From Christian + name.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.