Xptóbal

Xptóval, Xptóbal. I know it is the abbreviation for Cristóbal, Cristóval, Christóval, Christóbal ... Chrisptóval?? or english Christopher. I understand the X was for the Cruz or Cross (greek Cristos) - but does anyone know how the "p" got in there? The metamorphosis of Spanish names to me is interesting. Like Bethlehem changing to Bethelehem, Bethelem, and other variations and finally ending up Belén. Or José being spelled Joseph in the 1700's - was it nevertheless still pronounced José, the ph being silent? Or Yosep from Hebrew influence? I also understand that certain imported words like Bethlehem are linguistically unacceptable combinations of sounds to any Spanish-speaking person - so it _has_ to change, just as Tlaltenango is unacceptable to an English-speaking person - we _never_ start a word with TL ... Even my own name Stuart is unacceptable to many persons from India or Latin America because they insist on saying Estuart. I guess my interest in this is because when I look at old records I am obsessed with knowing how to pronounce the names as they were originally spoken - and I can't figure out how to pronounce them.