# Stephen (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/stephen/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Greek |
| Meaning | “crown”, “wreath”, “to put round”, “to surround”, “to enlace” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈstiːvən/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Steve, Steenie |
| Variant spellings | Steven, Stefanie, Stephon |
| US babies named this | 867,669 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 864,739 / 2,930 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 8,933, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Latin Stephanus, from Ancient Greek Στέφανος (Stéphanos), from στέφανος (stéphanos, “crown, wreath”), from στέφω (stéphō, “to put round, to surround”). From *stegʷʰ- (“to enlace”) + -νος (-nos, suffix forming an adjective or noun) from Proto-Indo-European *-nós (suffix forming a verbal adjective from a verb stem).

## What it means

Stephen is grouped under crown.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 39 | 2,986 |
| 1992 | 42 | 2,866 |
| 1993 | 14 | 6,581 |
| 1994 | 17 | 5,681 |
| 1995 | 19 | 5,192 |
| 1996 | 18 | 5,501 |
| 1997 | 14 | 6,800 |
| 1998 | 7 | 12,262 |
| 1999 | 14 | 7,183 |
| 2000 | 8 | 11,664 |
| 2002 | 10 | 10,147 |
| 2003 | 6 | 15,535 |
| 2004 | 10 | 10,585 |
| 2005 | 9 | 11,726 |
| 2007 | 6 | 17,359 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 1,579 | 229 |
| 2012 | 1,568 | 225 |
| 2013 | 1,452 | 252 |
| 2014 | 1,452 | 257 |
| 2015 | 1,497 | 246 |
| 2016 | 1,379 | 265 |
| 2017 | 1,334 | 270 |
| 2018 | 1,246 | 283 |
| 2019 | 1,095 | 310 |
| 2020 | 1,024 | 322 |
| 2021 | 958 | 342 |
| 2022 | 919 | 358 |
| 2023 | 898 | 363 |
| 2024 | 870 | 375 |
| 2025 | 829 | 383 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 189 | 255 |
| 2012 | 149 | 307 |
| 2013 | 165 | 280 |
| 2014 | 133 | 338 |
| 2015 | 127 | 357 |
| 2016 | 107 | 401 |
| 2017 | 107 | 409 |
| 2018 | 88 | 460 |
| 2019 | 77 | 506 |
| 2020 | 65 | 564 |
| 2021 | 80 | 496 |
| 2022 | 69 | 555 |
| 2023 | 53 | 665 |
| 2024 | 57 | 651 |
| 2025 | 49 | 716 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: إِصْتِفَان, سْتِيفِن
- Armenian: Ստեփան
- Bulgarian: Стефан, Сти́вън
- Catalan: Esteve
- Chinese: 史蒂文, 斯蒂芬
- Czech: Štěpán, Štefan
- Danish: Stefan
- Dutch: Steven, Stefan
- Esperanto: Stefano, Stiven
- Finnish: Tapani
- French: Étienne, Stéphane
- Georgian: სტეფანე
- German: Stefan, Stephan, Steffen
- Greek: Στέφανος, Στίβεν
- Hebrew: סטפן
- Hindi: स्टीवन
- Hungarian: István
- Icelandic: Stefán
- Irish: Stiofán, Steafán
- Italian: Stefano

## People named Stephen

- Stephen Hawking, British theoretical physicist, cosmologist and author (1942–2018)
- Stephen King, American novelist and writer (born 1947)
- Stephen Harper, 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015
- Stephen Hillenburg, American marine science educator and artist (1961-2018)
- Stephen Curry, American basketball player (born 1988)
- Saint Stephen, Deacon, martyr, and saint
- Stephen Jay Gould, American biologist and historian of science (1941–2002)
- Stephen Fry, British comedian, actor, writer, presenter, and activist
- Stephen Crane, American novelist, short story writer, poet, and journalist
- Stephen Colbert, American comedian and writer (born 1964)
- Stephen Covey, American educator, author, businessman and motivational speaker (1932-2012)
- Stephen Amell, Canadian actor

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.