NamesBoyS › Stephen
Boy name

Stephen

/ˈstivən/ · 100% boys · #383 in the US for boys, 2025

Stephen has been given to about 867,669 people in the United States since 1880. It was most common in 1952, which makes it a midcentury name.

Meaning
Origin
Syllables2
Pronunciation/ˈstivən/
Nicknames
Living in the US≈ 688,966
Median age today59 years

Popularity, 1880–2025

Babies named Stephen per year · SSA, ONS, NRS, CSO, INSEE and SSB
18802025
United StatesEngland & WalesScotlandIrelandFranceNorwayeach scaled to its own peak
  • Peak year1952 · 23,082
  • Born in 2025829
  • All time867,669
  • England & Wales, 2025#717 · 49

How popular is Stephen?

Stephen ranks 383rd among American boys in 2025, with 829 born that year. Its best year was 1952, when 23,082 babies were given the name, ranking 21st. The typical living American called Stephen is about 59 years old today. It is relatively most common in West Virginia, where it accounts for 0.07% of births.

Names that sound like Stephen

Phonetic similarity, 0–1
  1. Steven0.94
  2. Seven0.82
  3. Stephan0.74
  4. Steve0.72
  5. Stephon0.74
  6. Deven0.70
  7. Keven0.70
  8. Stefan0.69

Middle names for Stephen

Ranked by flow score
  1. Stephen Paul0.77
  2. Stephen John0.77
  3. Stephen Blake0.76
  4. Stephen Wade0.76
  5. Stephen Ross0.76
  6. Stephen Quinn0.76

Sibling names for Stephen

Same era, comparable use, no clash
  1. Gregorybrother · 0.96
  2. Peterbrother · 0.95
  3. Patrickbrother · 0.95
  4. Rebeccasister · 0.94
  5. Dianasister · 0.94
  6. Laurasister · 0.93

Where Stephen is strongest

Share of 2025 births by state
  1. West Virginia0.07%
  2. Mississippi0.07%
  3. Pennsylvania0.06%
  4. Connecticut0.05%
  5. Maryland0.05%

With a common surname

Flow score against the most-used American surnames · try your own
  1. Stephen Anderson0.77
  2. Stephen White0.72
  3. Stephen Moore0.72
  4. Stephen Hill0.72
  5. Stephen Hall0.72
  6. Stephen Brown0.72

How to read these numbers

Every score on this page is explained
  1. Phonetic similarity0–1
  2. Middle-name flow0–1
  3. Sibling fit0–1
  4. Living population estimatemethod
  5. PronunciationCMU dictionary

Sources for Stephen

Every figure on this page is public record
  1. United States1880–2025
  2. England & Wales1996–2025
  3. Scotland1974–2020
  4. Ireland1998–2019
  5. France1900–2025
  6. Norway1945–2025
  7. PronunciationCMU dictionary

Stephen across America

Share of 2025 births in each state. Darker means more common.
ME
WA
VT
NH
MT
ND
MN
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
ID
SD
IA
IL
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
NV
WY
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
CA
UT
CO
KS
AR
TN
NC
DC
AZ
NM
OK
LA
MS
AL
SC
AK
TX
GA
FL
HI
raremost common

Source: US Social Security Administration, national and state name files, 2025 release, and the Office for National Statistics for England and Wales. Etymology researched and written by our editors. Living-population and median-age figures are our own estimates, described in the methodology.