# Stephens (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/stephens/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname transferred from the given name.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 144,646 |
| US rank (2010) | 190 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 2,134 people |
| Change since 2000 | +4.3% (138,742 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈstiːvənz/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From the given name Stephen + the patronymic suffix -s.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Stephens in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 74% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 20% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.5% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.7% |
| Two or more races | 2.1% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Stephens in the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Australia.

## People named Stephens

- Toby Stephens, British actor
- John Lloyd Stephens, American explorer, writer, and diplomat (1805–1852)
- Helen Stephens, athletics competitor (1918–1994)
- Harvey Stephens, American actor (1901-1986)
- Laurie Stephens, American para-alpine skier
- William Dennison Stephens, American politician (1859–1944)
- Frederic George Stephens, British art critic, in the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (1827-1907)
- Michael Stephens, American soccer player
- Ann S. Stephens, American writer (1810–1886)
- Neil Stephens, Australian cyclist
- Darryl Stephens, American actor
- Lauren Stephens, American cyclist

and 15 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Stevens, Steffens, Stevenson, Stephenson, Steffen, Stephen, Stephan, Stebbins, Steven, Stepney, Stepanek, Steffensen.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.