Cristiano

Cristiano is the Italian and Portuguese form of Christian, from the Latin “Christianus” meaning “follower of Christ”. The Latin language borrowed the word from the Greek “Khristos” (meaning “anointed”). When the Hebrew Bible was translated into a common form of the ancient Greek language a couple of centuries before Christ, the word “Khristos” was used in place of the Hebrew “Mashiah” (“the anointed”) in reference to the coming of a deliverer of the Jewish nation (i.e., the Messiah). Of course, Christians believe that this expected deliverer came in the form of Jesus Christ the Savior. In Olde English, Jesus was more commonly ascribed the title “hæland” (the healer) until the Latin Christus replaced it. According to Acts 11:26, the term “Christian” was first coined by the people of Antioch (present day Turkey) after Barnabas and Saul went there to spread the word to “…a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.” A Christian is, quite obviously, a follower of Christ. As a given name, Christian dates back to the Middle Ages and, while it was gender-neutral, it was actually more common for girls. Gender-specific versions of the name eventually developed which is how we arrive at the following masculine forms: Chris, Christian, Christopher (English), Kristian (Scandinavian), Cristián (Spanish), and of course Cristiano is the version used among Italians and Portuguese.