Christine

Meaning of Christine

Christine is the French-latinate heir of the Greek Christiana—“follower of the Anointed”—a meaning that once echoed through basilicas and, in time, over the turquoise domes of Isfahan. In the United States her popularity traced a near-mathematical arc: peaking in 1970 with more than 16,000 registrations before gliding down to just under 200 in 2024, a descent as predictable as Tehran’s afternoon traffic. Pronounced kris-TEEN, the name opens with a crisp consonant cluster and resolves in a lingering vowel, rather like a ney flute note dissolving into desert air. Saints, operatic heroines, and a certain phantom-plagued soprano keep Christine’s cultural dossier well stocked, yet the profile it projects today is one of measured poise—classic without appearing antique. For parents who favor names that wear their history lightly, Christine offers a balanced palette: devotional roots, cosmopolitan polish, and a hint of rose-water elegance that would not feel out of place in a Persian courtyard at dusk.