Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Kirsten” come from?

Kirsten is a Danish given name derived from Danish Kristine, which comes from Danish Christina, a Scandinavian form of the name for Christian believers.

Ancestry of “Kirsten”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1NorwegianKirsten—
2NorwegianKristineChristina
3LatinChristina—
4LatinChristiānus—
5LatinChrīstus—
6Ancient GreekΧριστόςanointed; messiah; annointed, the annointed one,...
7Ancient Greekχρίωto smear with , rub on something; to anoint with...
8Proto-Indo-Europeangʰrēy-to smear; to paint, streak, smear
9Proto-Indo-Europeangʰer-to rub; to stroke; to grind
Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʰer- →