Thoughts on using Cristina as a baby name if not Christian?

[FLAMENCOQUEEN]

I'm a huge fan of colombian singer Sebastian Yatra, and this is the name of one of his hit songs. and i used to hate it for how explicitly christian it is but now I think it's really cute!

thoughts????

check out the song CRISTINA it's beautiful and he sings SOOO well
also, i'm personally not christian so would it be weird to name a future daughter this?
Not CHristina Cristina
thanks!

They may have ancient origins but they don't convey those meanings anymore, the Christianity bit is irrelevant.
William means warrior or protector but no one expects to meet one wandering around with a sword and shield.

That's not a straight comparison.
A better comparison might be something like Christian and Ismail.

No one is going to look at the names Kristie and Chris and think 'oh they must be religious!'.
Maybe they will assume they are English speakers (or might assume Cristina is Spanish) but I seriously doubt anyone is assuming anything about their religion.

They might if they were Jewish or Muslim and living in the middle east.

The OP might have mentioned that if it were the case 😂

@kscarpetta , OP has started lots of threads. Usually Latino or Indian names and claims to be a British Jew living in the Middle East. The name is not for a baby, it's for a fictional baby.

OP - if you live in an english speaking country - you and eventually your DD will forever have to correct the spelling. And that is something to think about. My H had a name he had to always spell and made sure our kids don't have to deal with that.

And on a separate point - I love S Y too - but naming a child after a song, hm.

I quite like it (Christina, Kristina, Cristina…). It’s a little old-fashioned without feeling overly quaint.

I would use the spelling that happens to be traditional in your community/ area of residence.

There’s a character in Grey’s Anatony called Cristina with that spelling. Online at least 50% of people spell it incorrectly with the h, even ones claiming she’s their favourite character,

I would imagine your daughter would always be having to correct people’s spelling of her name.

Just popping in to mention that;

• Queen Kristina of Sweden (https://skbl.se/en/article/Kristinadrottning) is another positive association and possible spelling. Of course, if the child travels, it's another opportunity for confusion and misspelling.
• Arthur Schopenhauer, the famous philosopher, might be a useful inspiration. Apparently "Arthur Schopenhauer's father specifically chose his son's first name because it is spelled identically in German, English, and French." Who knows which female names match that these days? Bonus points for more nations. 😊

All names mean something, we might not necessarily pick a name because of the meaning but equally when a name has a well known meaning people may assume the name is picked for that reason.

Richard, Robert, Albert, Louis...

No they wont

My first thought was Cristina Yang on Greys Anatomy who is Jewish

Illiterate? It’s a pretty common alternative spelling ffs

I don’t think it’s associated with christianity much these days and it’s a lovely name with or without the h

Potential issue is always having to specify the spelling, being 'Cristina-without-an-H' for the rest of your life.

I don't think people assume 'Chris-' names = Christian by faith these days. Even if they do think someone was named by Christian parents, that wouldn't mean they had to be Christian themselves once they were old enough to decide.

Finally, 'Christina' (which people will think she is unless they have reason to ask the spelling) is in a dated cycle at the moment, if that bothers you. I have an out of period name myself and when I was young everyone else with the name was middle-aged or older, now I'm middle-aged it's become more fashionable and everyone else with it is under 10 😂

@NineFiftyNine , they're Christ- names.
Many -el/El- names and Theo- names are religious.

Yes, I know that. What I mean is that, supposing the assumption was that you'd been named to honour Jesus Christ - you do not choose your own name. You could be Christina, daughter of devout Anglicans, but have grown up be a die-hard atheist or a Buddhist yourself, for example.

True but it would be strange to give your baby a name from a different religion if you were religious.

That's not what I'm suggesting.

Hypothetically: Christina's parents are Christians, they name their daughter to honour their faith.

When Christina grows up, she thinks 'Sod this God-stuff for a lark, it's a load of rubbish, from now on I'm atheist.'

Thus you have a Christina who is not a Christian.

I knew that's what you were suggesting, @NineFiftyNine .I can read

My post said that if you followed a particular religion you would probably not name your child a name linked with a different religion.

Christina would have been named by her parents, possibly because they were Christians. I would be surprised if parents who practiced a different religion used the name for their baby.
Up to them what they name their child and up to the child whether to practise any religion once they are adults.

and i used to hate it for how explicitly christian it is

I'm in my 60s and know and have known many Christines, Christinas, and Christophers in my life. I am also a Christian. Yet I have never assumed, or thought to wonder if anyone called Christine / Christina / Christopher is a Christian, and they are just people with common names in my age group and above.

I agree with so many others though, that if you are in the UK (and I can't see anywhere that you say either way), then I would spell it with an 'h', as she will spend her life correcting it otherwise.
It's not that we are unable to cope with names from different cultures here - no problem with Juan, Mohammed, Priya, Lakshmi, Sven, etc, etc, but when you see or hear a name you are familiar with being spelled one way, that is the way you will naturally write it.

Catherine, Katherine, Kathryn
Claire, Clair, Clare
Lynne, Lynn, Lyn
Christina, Kristina, Cristina

I have a very common name with one standard British spelling and still get some people spelling it incorrectly. Lots of names in the English language have multiple spellings, I think most people can cope with a simple conversation to clarify the spelling.

My post said that if you followed a particular religion you would probably not name your child a name linked with a different religion

@HughManity I never once suggested you would.