Skip to content
BrazilNames BrazilNames

Meaning of the nameCristóvão

Cristóvão is a male name of Greek origin, by way of the Latin form, meaning 'bearer of Christ' and corresponding to the English Christopher.

People (2022)
10,599
Rank in Brazil
#1,640
Median age
47 years
2010 Census
12,716
people

Cristóvão in the 2022 Census

People with the first name Cristóvão, by the decade they were born. In the chart, 70 = the 1970s and 20+ = 2020 to 2022. The largest group was born in the 1960s (2,196 people).

25 women 10,574 men

Source: IBGE, 2022 Demographic Census, Nomes no Brasil. The census counts the first name of people alive in 2022; small counts are not published, and the first group covers everyone born before 1940. How to read these data.

Where the name Cristóvão is most common

States with the highest share of people named Cristóvão in the population, in the 2022 Census.

  1. Amazonas 0.019%
  2. Alagoas 0.017%
  3. Piauí 0.011%
  4. Bahia 0.009%
  5. Pernambuco 0.008%
All states
StatePeople% of population
São Paulo1,3580.003%
Bahia1,3130.009%
Minas Gerais1,0140.005%
Amazonas7570.019%
Rio de Janeiro7320.005%
Pernambuco7210.008%
Ceará5540.006%
Alagoas5360.017%
Pará4610.006%
Piauí3700.011%
Maranhão2880.004%
Paraná2850.003%
Paraíba2820.007%
Rio Grande do Norte2450.007%
Goiás2310.003%
Santa Catarina1990.003%
Rio Grande do Sul1950.002%
Mato Grosso1700.005%
Mato Grosso do Sul1690.006%
Espírito Santo1540.004%
Sergipe1540.007%
Distrito Federal1070.004%
Tocantins880.006%
Acre580.007%
Rondônia560.004%
Roraima540.009%
Amapá480.007%

States with fewer than 15 people with the name are not shown: IBGE does not publish those counts.

About the name Cristóvão

Cristóvão comes from the Latin Christophanus, a variant of Christophorus, which in turn comes from the Greek Χριστόφορος (Khristóphoros), formed from Χριστός, 'Christ', and -φόρος, 'bearing'. The Dicionário de Nomes em Uso no Brasil (Dictionary of Names in Use in Brazil), citing Machado, records the meaning 'bearer of Christ' and explains the form Christophanus by the influence of Stephanus; Behind the Name adds that early Christians used the name in a figurative sense, that of carrying Christ in the heart. It is the Portuguese equivalent of Christopher. In the 2022 Census, IBGE recorded 10,599 people named Cristóvão, with a median age of 47. Cristovão, Cristovam and Cristóvam are older spellings of the same name.

Sources

  1. Wiktionary: Cristóvão · en.wiktionary.org · meaning
  2. Wiktionary: Χριστόφορος · en.wiktionary.org · meaning
  3. Behind the Name: Christopher · behindthename.com · meaning
  4. Dicionário de Nomes em Uso no Brasil: Cristóvão · dicionariodenomesdobrasil.com.br · meaning

Questions about the name Cristóvão

What does the name Cristóvão mean?

Cristóvão means “bearer of Christ”, according to Wiktionary and Behind the Name.

How many people are named Cristóvão in Brazil?

IBGE's 2022 Census recorded 10,599 people with the first name Cristóvão, which ranks it number 1,640 among the country's names. The largest group was born in the 1960s.

Is Cristóvão a boy's or a girl's name?

Cristóvão is a male name: in the 2022 Census, 25 women and 10,574 men had this name.

What is the origin of the name Cristóvão?

Cristóvão is a name of Greek and Latin origin. The sources are listed at the end of the page.

In which Brazilian state is Cristóvão most common?

Proportionally, in Amazonas: 0.019% of the state's population is named Cristóvão (757 people), according to the 2022 Census.

Names that also mean faith

See all

More names of Greek origin

See all

Spotted a mistake? Report a correction for Cristóvão with a source. See the methodology.