Christy
A surname that usually began as a pet form of Christopher or Christian, especially in Scotland and northern England.
The #2,621 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 22,454 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Christy is generally a shortened, familiar form of the personal names Christopher or Christian. In older surname usage, it often meant “son of Christian” or “son of Christopher,” with the name developing through nicknames such as Christie and Christy. The ultimate root is Greek Christos, “anointed,” which lies behind the Christian name tradition.
History
The name is especially associated with Scotland and the northern border regions of England, where Christian was once a popular given name. Historical surname writers also connect Christy with Irish usage, especially where it reflects Gaelic forms of Christopher or Christian rendered into English spelling. In the 19th and early 20th centuries it was commonly treated as a variant of Christie rather than a fully separate surname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older surname books, Christy is often grouped with Christie so closely that the two are sometimes treated as essentially the same family of names.
From the historical record
“— (i) Bapt. 'the son of Christian,' from niclt. Christie. Christie and Christy are all but invariably North English or Border sur- names. Christian being a former Tavourite font-name in those dis- tricts. Itisslillapopulargirl'aname in the Scottish Lowlands. Former-”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances