Christos is a common Greek male name. Although basically associated with the Christian Religion and Christ, the origins of the name lie on the ancient Greek language, since there is the word “hrio” (χρίω) which means “to anoint”. Christ is, thus, the Anointed one.
Name Christos can be spelled as Hristos as well, which is closer to the Greek spelling of the word. There has been lately some controversy about the right way to spell the name in Greek as well, because the variety of vocals in the Greek language makes it hard to agree on a particular spelling some times. Today it is possible to see name Christos in different spellings in Greek – Χρήστος or Χρίστος.
Sound of name Christos: Chreé-stos (opposite from Christos-Christ whose name sounds like Chree-stós)
Female Version of name Christos: Christina or Hristina
Nameday of name Christos: 25th of December, Christmas day
Origin of name Christos – Jesus Christ
Although name Christos comes from the ancient Greek Language, it became popular and commonly used towards the late Christian years, after Christ and his story became widely known and taught by the Apostles and other followers of the new religion. For the Greek Orthodox Church, name Christos is associated with Jesus Christ, the Messiah of the Christian World. Both the birth and resurrection of Christ are celebrated by the Greek Orthodox Church, and although there is much controversy about the real date of Christ’s birth date , the 25th of December is chosen as the date celebrated by the Western countries as the birth date of Jesus. This is the date celebrated by the Greek Orthodox Church – the only Orthodox country celebrating Christmas on that date. Therefore, Christos celebrates his name day on Christmas day.
Nicknames deriving from name Christos
Christos features just a few nicknames and diminutives; the most common ones are: Chris, Christakis, Christakos, Takis, Akis, Kristis, Christis.
The Names’ Fairy reveals for name Christos
Christos is quite stubborn and wants to do things he likes the most, without considering other people’s desires or demands some times. Christos is a man that will rarely accept he has made a mistake and will not apologize in the case he did something wrong, but will try to defend his choices and actions as much as possible.
Hey!!! Just wanted to let you know that not all CHRISTOS’ are stubborn. Some are very peaceful, calm and stoic. They will call it like it is, but with good intention. They are also very caring when it comes to their loved ones – going above and beyond to see them happy and supported. Please remove the sentence where you said that CHRISTOS’ are unapologetic.
why did the Greeks change Yahusha Ha’ Mashiach name to Ἰησοῦς Χριστός to English JESUS CHRIST?
(מָשִׁיחַ Mashiach in Hebrew) to (Μεσσίας in Greek) (Messiah in English) this is right translation BUT… Χριστός Christos, Christ in English is a false name of the translation for (מָשִׁיחַ Mashiach ,Μεσσίας, Messiah) is wrong and it led to Christianity because of this
I was wondering if Christos could also mean creator+ anointed one? In the book of John it tells us about how Jesus made everything. The last name of Jesus is not Christ. It’s who he is.
Hi, I really appreciate the work that has been done on the website and consider it a very valuable database for Greek names.
However, with the name Christos, I am quite confident you have made a mistake. Christos (Χρήστος) has no connection with the other Christos (Χριστός); the former is the name used commonly in Greece whereas the second means Christ – the anointed one, as the root of that word indeed comes from the Greek verb “to anoint”.
However, the first name has its own distinct meaning, “splendid” or wonderful in ancient Greek. Although the two i’s are pronounced similarly in modern Greek, this was not the case in ancient Greek, not to mention the tone.
I understand that misunderstandings may occur when translating into the Latin alphabet!
Antonis hi, thanks for the comments and participation!
Actually we took the information from the Synaxaristis of the Greek Church. Moreover, the Dictionary of Etymology by Mpampiniotis suggests that Christos (with an -i in Greek) comes from the name Christ, which means the anointed one, due to the ascension of the accent – the same way that lamprós became Lámpros, and stavrós became Stávros. Due to the ascension of the accent we have the word χρηστός in Greek, which means good and virtuous, to Χρήστος, but due to the Christian religion Χρήστος became the same as Christos, therefore we celebrate the nameday on Christmas day, December 25th.
I agree
Hi, I am a Greek American expecting our second child (boy). We are wanting to name the baby after the Virgin Mary and would like some additional information as to baby names. We understand the most popular names are Marios and Panagiotis, but we would like to know if there are additional names we could name the baby that would honor the Virgin Mary.
Thank you,
Tina Pappas Rooth
Hi Tina,
I think Marios and Panagiotis are your only choices. My nephew’s name is Marios and I love this name.