CHRISTMAS
The surname Christmas is of English origin and is derived from the Middle English word Cristemasse, meaning "Christ's mass" or "the mass of Christ". It is believed to have originally been a nickname given to a person born on Christmas Day or someone closely associated with the holiday.
In medieval England, the calendar was dominated by the main religious saints' days, which served as the principal source of festivals and entertainment. Choirs, processions and feasts were held to commemorate these days, and Christmas was the most widely celebrated. Some historians suggest that the surname Christmas could have been a job‑descriptive name for a person responsible for arranging the annual festivity, or it may have been given to a person with a cheerful spirit reminiscent of the yuletide season.
The earliest surviving references to the name appear in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries. In 1185 a licence for the manor of Essex records the name Roger Cristemesse in the Rotuli Dominus Rolls. In 1191 Ralph Christemasse of Suffolk and in 1308 Richard Cristemes of Cambridge are also recorded. A notable 17th‑century bearer was Gerard Christmas, who from 1619 to 1632 was the official organiser of the Lord Mayor of London’s annual procession and festival. In 1626 Thomas Christmas married Dorothie Leesie by Civil Licence in London. These early records demonstrate that the name was already in use as a surname by the early modern period.
Over the centuries a number of spelling variants have been documented, including Christmasse, Christmass, Christmus, Crismus, and Christmesse. Local dialects and the idiosyncrasies involved in handwriting have produced further alterations such as single‑s or single‑t variants, and occasional orthographic substitutions like replacing the initial c with a k to give Kristmas. These variants are often the result of phonetic spelling in regions where the pronunciation differed from the standard form.
In contemporary times the surname remains relatively uncommon. It is most frequently encountered in England and other English‑speaking countries such as the United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, reflecting the patterns of migration from the British Isles during the periods of colonisation and immigration. In these countries the name is usually associated with families that trace their ancestry back to the medieval period, although modern bearers rarely have a connection to the original festive or occupational meanings of the name.
Although the surname is not directly derived from any modern holiday, it serves as a unique linguistic reminder of the ways in which personal names have been shaped by cultural, religious and historical contexts. The historical evidence shows that the surname Christmas is rooted in the medieval practice of naming individuals after significant religious observances, a tradition that has survived in the modern era as a rare, distinctive family name.
Typical given names associated with the Christmas surname
Male
- Andrew
- David
- Ian
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Robert
- Stephen
Female
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Helen
- Jean
- Julie
- Kathleen
- Mary
- Patricia
- Salina
- Sally
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
- Christ
- Christa
- Christal
- Christan
- Chrismas
- Christain
- Christall
- Christe
- Christean
- Christey
- Christi
- Christiaan
- Christiaans
- Christiaens
- Christian
- Christiana
- Christiane
- Christiani
- Christiano
- Christians
- Christides
- Christidis
- Christie
- Christies
- Christimas
- Christin
- Christina
- Christinas
- Christine
- Christison
- Christman
- Christmann
- Christmass
- Christo
- Christos
- Christoudias
- Christy
- Christys
- Chritmas
- Chryst
- Cristia
- Cristman
- Cristmas
- Cristmass
- Christias
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Christmas in...
Braille
⠉⠓⠗⠊⠎⠞⠍⠁⠎
Morse
-.-......-......---.-...
Semaphore
Did you know?
According to a survey carried out by Democracy Club, politicians and candidates with the surname Christmas are most likely to say that their favourite biscuit is a Jaffa Cake.
There are approximately 2,300 people named Christmas in the UK. That makes it roughly the 3,751st most common surname in Britain. Around 35 in a million people in Britain are named Christmas.
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Christmas
- Eric Christmas - Actor (1916 to 2000)
- Keith Christmas - Singer-songwriter
- Stephen Christmas - First patient described to have Haemophilia B (1947 to 1993)
- Dani Christmas - Cyclist
- Christmas - Welsh politician (1881 to 1965)
- Ruth Christmas - (1904 to 2001)
- Cecil Christmas - Football player (1886 to 1916)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.