How Many People Are Named Stephen?
people named Stephen are alive in the United States today (estimate)
About 1 in 529 people in the US has this name
Based on 867,669 babies named Stephen in Social Security records from 1880 to 2025, and the share of each birth year still alive in 2025.
Popularity Rank
⭐⭐ Common
Peak Year
23,082 births
Trend
Stable (last 10 years)
📖 Name Origin & Meaning
Meaning:
From the Greek name Στεφανος (Stephanos) meaning "crown", more precisely "that which surrounds". Saint Stephen was a deacon who was stoned to death, as told in Acts in the New Testament. He is regarded as the first Christian martyr. Due to him, the name became common in the Christian world. It was popularized in England by the Normans.
Source of the meaning, origin, pronunciation and related names: Behind the Name.
Same Sound, Other Spellings
These names are pronounced like Stephen in English. Counting Stephen and these spellings together, about 1,697,211 people alive in the US have the name.
⚧ Gender Distribution
Almost all of the babies given the name Stephen (99.6%) were boys.
👥 Age Distribution
The average person named Stephen alive today is about 53 years old, and 48% are between 30 and 59. Half of them were between 39 and 68 in 2025.
📈 Popularity Over Time
Stephen first appears in the records in 1880 and was given most often in 1952, to 23,082 babies. In 2025, 829 babies got the name.
Babies given the name each year, 1880 to 2025
🏆 Rank History
Stephen never made the top 10 boys' names. Its best rank was #19, in 1949 to 1951, and it was in the top 100 in 95 years between 1880 and 2000. In 2025 it ranked #383.
| Boys | |
|---|---|
| Rank in 2025 | #383 |
| Best rank | #19 (1949 to 1951) |
| Years in the top 100 | 95 (1880 to 2000) |
| Rank in its biggest decade | #20 in the 1950s |
📍 State-Wise Distribution
People named Stephen alive today, by the state where they were born (estimate; state records start in 1910).
More people named Stephen were born in New York than in any other state: about 61,230 of those alive today. Compared with the national rate in the same years, Stephen was given 2.2 times as often in Massachusetts, 2.1 times in Rhode Island and 1.8 times in Maine.
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