christen

American  

[kris-uhn] / ˈkrɪs ən /

verb (used with object)

1. to receive into the Christian church by baptism; baptize.

2. to give a name to at baptism.

   They christened her Mary.

3. to name and dedicate.

   to christen a ship.

4. to make use of for the first time.

---

christen British  

/ ˈkrɪsən /

verb

1. to give a Christian name to in baptism as a sign of incorporation into a Christian Church

2. another word for baptize

3. to give a name to (anything), esp with some ceremony

4. informal to use for the first time

---

Other Word Forms

• christener
  noun
• rechristen
  verb (used with object)
• unchristened
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of christen

before 900; Middle English cristenen, Old English cristnian, derivative of cristen Christian

Explanation

To christen a person is to name them, especially in a church baptism ceremony. Your parents may have christened you after a great-grandparent, giving you the same first name. Even if you were christened "Tom Smith" at birth, your friends might give you a nickname, christening you "Pickles" and referring to you that way for the rest of your life. Objects can be christened too: "I hereby christen this car Scooby Doo the Subaru!" When it happens as part of a religious ceremony, being christened means being officially admitted to a Christian church — and the word's Old English root literally means "make Christian."

Example Sentences

“If I’m paying a lot of money to go somewhere, and fly across the world, why would I want to waste the time sleeping?” said Christen Wall, a business owner from Oregon.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 17, 2026

Puig — who was not accused of betting on baseball — lost more than $1.5 million in sports bets, Internal Revenue Service Special Agent Christen Seymour testified, and owed Nix $282,900.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 6, 2026

The paper was led by first author Ikra Iftekhar Shuvo, an MIT graduate student in media arts and sciences, along with Carlos Díaz-Marín, Marvin Christen, Michael Lherbette, and Christopher Liem.

From Science Daily • Nov. 20, 2025

The first, on Jan. 24 against Paraguay, will be played at Dignity Health Sports Park and will include a tribute to two-time World Cup champion Christen Press, who announced her retirement this fall.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 20, 2025

Stanza viii. of Nikolaus Herman's hymn, “Lobt Gott, ihr Christen alle gleich”; rest of libretto original.

From Johann Sebastian Bach by Forkel, Johann Nikolaus