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Second thoughts: probably this wouldn't apply in the US, but in the UK and Commonwealth the new parents in the 1950s were the first generation to have been brought up on AA Milne's Christopher Robin stories ... widely, widely known and with a strong association with an innocent, delightful and playful child.

My tentative guess

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Would be movies. Orson Welles named his daughter Christopher in the late 30s, early 40s. However I cannot think of any other classic movies where Christopher was used - though with Anneza's list I can list a dozen of movies where the names were used.

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Hmm.

Based on other answers, I'd guess that the apparent outbreak of female Christophers is actually caused by forms that were misread or just completed incorrectly and never checked.

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The 1950s had a good many new or newish popular names: Barbara, Deborah, Linda ... and Christine too, for girls, so people clearly liked the Chris element. And might also have felt the need of a change from the old names to fresh, modern ones. No more Great Depression, no more war. Must have been good!

There was a tv series "Trapper John, M.D." in the late 1970s and 1980s. An actress was named Christopher Norris.

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