Cristina

Cristina (without the “h”) is the Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Christina derived from the Latin Christianus meaning “a Christian”. All of the “Christian” names are ultimately derived from the Greek name Christos from “chrio” meaning “to anoint”. Christós (Christ) was a title given to Jesus of Nazareth by Greek Christians in the first century to signify him as the anointed one by the power of God. The Greek Christós is also a translation of the Hebrew word “Messiah” meaning essentially the same thing (anointed). Female names such as Christian, Christiane, Christina and Christine have been around since the Middle Ages but did not become widely common until the 17th century. Influencing the name’s success in part was Christina of Sweden (Queen of Sweden) who abdicated her throne in 1654 when she converted to Catholicism (her family were prominent Protestants). This caused quite the scandal in her day, but it appears that she had a fitting first name! The former queen moved to Rome and thereafter became a champion for the arts. The Italians, Portuguese and Spanish took up the name in the form of Cristina. Today Cristina is quite common in Spain and Catalonia.