Stephen

What Stephen means

Means “crown, wreath”

From Latin Stephanus, from Ancient Greek Στέφανος (Stéphanos), from στέφανος (stéphanos, “crown, wreath”), from στέφω (stéphō, “to put round, to surround”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Stephen” (revision 94543736), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Stephen?

US: Falling: down from #246 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #357 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1951, when 22,474 boys got the name (#19 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 2,060 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 5,550 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 2,455 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in WV (1.3 per 1,000 boys), PA (1.22 per 1,000 boys), MS (1.2 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Stephen is #383 in the US and #716 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Stephen were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Steven1,261 US · 31 E&W
• Stephan86 US · 6 E&W
• Stephon46 US
• Steeven8 US
• Stefen8 US
• Steffen5 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

Spelling variants on Wiktionary

• Steven

Listed as alternative forms on Wiktionary.

If you like Stephen

Boys

• Paul#262“small”^*
• Mark#244Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1960, with 58,727 babies; 1,416 in 2025
• Timothy#203“to honour + god”^*
• Phillip#651Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1960, with 6,047 babies; 425 in 2025
• Gregory#593“watchful, vigilant”^*
• Dennis#707“follower of (the wine god) Dionysus”^*

For a sister

• Melissa#419“bee, honey, or honeybee”^*
• Rebecca#349“enchantingly beautiful, captivating, snare”^*
• Christina#770Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1985, with 16,600 babies; 352 in 2025
• Teresa#908Editor’s note Down from #664 in 2015 to #908 in 2025 in the US
• Elizabeth#17“my God is an oath”^*
• Cassandra#630Editor’s note Down from #512 in 2015 to #630 in 2025 in the US

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Bible, Greek, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Stephen’s. Rank is US 2025.