Kirsten

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Kirsten

Gender: Feminine
Language: Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Scottish, English
Etymology:
Kirsten is an alternate form of Kristen, a Scandinavian form of Christina, or Christiana

History:
Kirsten is formed from Kristen by a “transposition” or “swapping” of the letters “i” and “r.” This is a linguistic process known as metathesis. Kirsten, thus, is a comparatively rare alternate form of the name Kristen, found in Germany and Scandinavia from medieval times until today.

Kirsten was introduced to the United States by Scandinavian immigrants in the 19th century. The name, however, was often Anglicized to Christina, or Christine, and had disappeared by the turn of the century.

Kirsten was revived in the 1950s, after the more popular name of Kristen was also revived.

Please see Kristen or Christiana for more information.

Pronunciation: keer-sten.

Diminutives: Kirsti, Kirstie, Kirsty.

Alternates: Kirstin, Kirsteen, Kirstine, Kerstin.

Famous Bearers:
Artists and Authors:
Ann Kirsten Carr-Boyd (1938-)
Australian composer.
Kirsten Bakis (1968-)
American author.

Miscellaneous:
Sally Kirsten Ride (1951-)
American astronaut.

Political Figures:
Kirsten Livermore (1969-)
Australian politician.

Singers and Entertainers:
Kirsten Flagstad (1895-1962)
Norwegian soprano.
Kirstie Alley (1955-)
American actress.
Kirsten Dunst (1982-)
American actress.
Kirsten Storms (1984-)
American actress.

Sports Stars:
Kirsten Klose (1977-)
German Olympic hammer thrower.
Kirsten Thomson (1983-)
Australian Olympic swimmer.

Popularity:
Percentage from the 1990 U.S. Census:
0.018 % of females named Kirsten
0.003 % of females named Kirstin
0.001 % of females named Kirstie

Popularity of Kirsten:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1950-1956: N/A
1957: 996th most popular.
1958: 859th most popular.
1959: 723rd most popular.
1960: 628th most popular.
1961: 667th most popular.
1962: 561st most popular.
1963: 392nd most popular.
1964: 362nd most popular.
1965: 356th most popular.
1966: 298th most popular.
1967: 303rd most popular.
1968: 247th most popular.
1969: 253rd most popular.
1970: 284th most popular.
1971: 296th most popular.
1972: 285th most popular.
1973: 297th most popular.
1974: 295th most popular.
1975: 303rd most popular.
1976: 316th most popular.
1977: 336th most popular.
1978: 285th most popular.
1979: 293rd most popular.
1980: 343rd most popular.
1981: 335th most popular.
1982: 328th most popular.
1983: 324th most popular.
1984: 323rd most popular.
1985: 320th most popular.
1986: 320th most popular.
1987: 277th most popular.
1988: 214th most popular.
1989: 183rd most popular.
1990: 163rd most popular.
1991: 159th most popular. - Peak!
1992: 171st most popular.
1993: 193rd most popular.
1994: 199th most popular.
1995: 181st most popular.
1996: 176th most popular.
1997: 188th most popular.
1998: 200th most popular.
1999: 204th most popular.
2000: 256th most popular.
2001: 264th most popular.
2002: 281st most popular.
2003: 281st most popular.
2004: 297th most popular.

Popularity of Kirstin:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1950-1967: N/A
1968: 819th most popular.
1969: 805th most popular.
1970: 868th most popular.
1971: 884th most popular.
1972: 921st most popular.
1973: 908th most popular.
1974: 886th most popular.
1975: 906th most popular.
1976: N/A
1977: 945th most popular.
1978: 977th most popular.
1979: 902nd most popular.
1980: 954th most popular.
1981-1982: N/A
1983: 935th most popular.
1984: 906th most popular.
1985: 965th most popular.
1986: N/A
1987: 869th most popular.
1988: 720th most popular.
1989: 606th most popular.
1990: 586th most popular.
1991: 590th most popular.
1992: 603rd most popular.
1993: 734th most popular.
1994: 776th most popular.
1995: 741st most popular.
1996: 711th most popular.
1997: 828th most popular.
1998: 913th most popular.
1999: 889th most popular.
2000: 976th most popular.
2001-2004: N/A

Popularity of Kirstie:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1950-1988: N/A
1989: 770th most popular.
1990: 475th most popular.
1991: 423rd most popular.
1992: 573rd most popular.
1993: 823rd most popular.
1994: 999th most popular.
1995-2005: N/A

Selected Sources:
The Penguin Dictionary of First Names, Pickering, 1999
The Wordsworth Dictionary of First Names, Mcleod and Freedman, 1995
The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, Withycombe, 1977, 3rd ed.
A Dictionary of First Names, Hanks and Hodges, 1990

The Academy of St. Gabriel (www.s-gabriel.org) - For information on medieval names.
The Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com) - For information on medieval names.

The Social Security Administration Actuarial Note 139 (www.ssa.gov) - For popularity stats 1880-Present
The 1880 U.S. Census- For popularity stats 1850-1880, and other information (it is available on-line at www.familysearch.org)