Christmas
A surname that likely began as a baptismal name for a child born at Christmas.
The #6,122 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 55,143 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname was originally used as a baptismal or given name for someone born on Christmas Day. The word comes from English Christmas, ultimately tied to the Christian feast of the Nativity; the holiday name itself goes back through Old English and medieval church usage to Latin roots meaning "birth" or "birthday." In older sources, it is grouped with other festive surnames such as Noel, Pentecost, and Easter, all reflecting the season of a child’s birth or baptism.
History
Historical surname dictionaries note Christmas as an old baptismal surname rather than a place-name or occupation. It appears in medieval records in forms such as Christemas and Chrismas, and later survived as a hereditary family name. Similar naming practices produced surnames like Noel in French and Pentecost in English.
Origin
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Fun fact
Christmas belongs to a whole family of surnames that began as calendar-based nicknames or baptismal names, including Noel, Pentecost, and Candlemas.
From the historical record
“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. CHRISTOPHER. The Christian name, whence…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom