Christie
A Scots and northern English surname originally from a pet form of Christopher or Christian.
The #1,931 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 16,527 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Christie is a shortened surname form built from the personal names Christopher and, in some cases, Christian. The name ultimately goes back to Greek khristos, "anointed," through Latin Christianus and Christophorus. In older English and Scots usage, Christie functioned as a familiar pet form, later inherited as a family name.
History
Historical surname dictionaries place Christie especially in northern England and the Scottish Borders, where Christian was a popular given name. It was also used as a short form of Christopher, so some Christie families may have different original forenames behind the same surname. Related spellings include Christy and Chrystie, and the name remains strongly associated with Scotland in particular.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some older sources explicitly note that Christie could come from either Christopher or Christian, so the same surname may have more than one family origin.
From the historical record
“CLA CHRISTIE. CHRISTY. CHRISTEY. See Christopher. CHRISTMAS. CHRISI^IAS. Origin- ally imjiosed, Camden thinks, as a bap- tismal name, in consequence of the indivi- dual having been l:(orn on the daj' of the festival. In like manner in France, Noel was first a Christian, afterwards a family name.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom