Stephan
Stephan was given to 86 boys in 2025, #1,850 among boys’ names; 27,910 Americans have been recorded with it since 1895 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 22,900 Americans named Stephan and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (82% of everyone recorded); the median is 43 years old and half are between 31 and 61.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Stephan by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Stephan mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Stephan is “a male given name.” Its etymology gives the senses “to crown” (στεφανίζω) and “that which surrounds, crown, wreath” (στέφανος).
Ultimately from Ancient Greek στεφανίζω (stephanízō, “to crown”) & Ancient Greek στέφανος (stéphanos, “that which surrounds, crown, wreath”).
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Stephan?
#1,850 among boys’ names, 2025
Stephan fell from #1,140 in 2015 to #1,850 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 86.6 to 50.3 per million.
579 babies in 1989, the peak
Stephan peaked in 1989, when 579 boys were given it, #382 among boys’ names. The 86 births of 2025 are 15% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 86 | #1,850 | 0.05 |
| 2024 | 97 | #1,719 | 0.06 |
| 2023 | 115 | #1,536 | 0.07 |
| 2022 | 116 | #1,550 | 0.07 |
| 2021 | 132 | #1,394 | 0.08 |
| 2020 | 153 | #1,231 | 0.09 |
| 2019 | 149 | #1,264 | 0.08 |
| 2018 | 143 | #1,290 | 0.08 |
| 2017 | 142 | #1,284 | 0.08 |
| 2016 | 175 | #1,119 | 0.09 |
Every recorded year (123)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 166 | #1,140 | 0.09 |
| 2014 | 160 | #1,172 | 0.08 |
| 2013 | 161 | #1,134 | 0.09 |
| 2012 | 142 | #1,247 | 0.07 |
| 2011 | 166 | #1,114 | 0.09 |
| 2010 | 162 | #1,148 | 0.08 |
| 2009 | 164 | #1,130 | 0.08 |
| 2008 | 162 | #1,132 | 0.08 |
| 2007 | 192 | #1,011 | 0.09 |
| 2006 | 193 | #969 | 0.09 |
| 2005 | 200 | #901 | 0.10 |
| 2004 | 205 | #860 | 0.10 |
| 2003 | 216 | #807 | 0.11 |
| 2002 | 228 | #757 | 0.12 |
| 2001 | 238 | #732 | 0.12 |
| 2000 | 242 | #720 | 0.12 |
| 1999 | 295 | #618 | 0.15 |
| 1998 | 310 | #599 | 0.16 |
| 1997 | 401 | #511 | 0.21 |
| 1996 | 371 | #532 | 0.20 |
| 1995 | 467 | #470 | 0.25 |
| 1994 | 479 | #459 | 0.25 |
| 1993 | 425 | #493 | 0.22 |
| 1992 | 508 | #436 | 0.25 |
| 1991 | 517 | #431 | 0.26 |
| 1990 | 570 | #405 | 0.28 |
| 1989 | 579 | #382 | 0.29 |
| 1988 | 532 | #376 | 0.28 |
| 1987 | 566 | #347 | 0.30 |
| 1986 | 476 | #386 | 0.26 |
| 1985 | 459 | #393 | 0.25 |
| 1984 | 401 | #412 | 0.22 |
| 1983 | 360 | #435 | 0.20 |
| 1982 | 345 | #459 | 0.19 |
| 1981 | 303 | #481 | 0.17 |
| 1980 | 303 | #485 | 0.17 |
| 1979 | 292 | #484 | 0.17 |
| 1978 | 294 | #475 | 0.18 |
| 1977 | 275 | #490 | 0.17 |
| 1976 | 286 | #463 | 0.18 |
| 1975 | 282 | #477 | 0.18 |
| 1974 | 313 | #449 | 0.20 |
| 1973 | 314 | #442 | 0.20 |
| 1972 | 353 | #422 | 0.22 |
| 1971 | 359 | #429 | 0.20 |
| 1970 | 411 | #395 | 0.22 |
| 1969 | 439 | #375 | 0.25 |
| 1968 | 383 | #400 | 0.22 |
| 1967 | 393 | #381 | 0.23 |
| 1966 | 396 | #382 | 0.22 |
| 1965 | 405 | #388 | 0.22 |
| 1964 | 444 | #375 | 0.22 |
| 1963 | 437 | #382 | 0.22 |
| 1962 | 525 | #339 | 0.25 |
| 1961 | 435 | #379 | 0.20 |
| 1960 | 418 | #387 | 0.20 |
| 1959 | 382 | #407 | 0.18 |
| 1958 | 381 | #400 | 0.18 |
| 1957 | 464 | #350 | 0.22 |
| 1956 | 472 | #342 | 0.22 |
| 1955 | 493 | #332 | 0.24 |
| 1954 | 525 | #313 | 0.26 |
| 1953 | 470 | #326 | 0.24 |
| 1952 | 455 | #326 | 0.23 |
| 1951 | 444 | #326 | 0.24 |
| 1950 | 412 | #332 | 0.23 |
| 1949 | 373 | #349 | 0.21 |
| 1948 | 309 | #389 | 0.18 |
| 1947 | 313 | #387 | 0.17 |
| 1946 | 208 | #441 | 0.13 |
| 1945 | 154 | #487 | 0.11 |
| 1944 | 137 | #521 | 0.10 |
| 1943 | 143 | #528 | 0.10 |
| 1942 | 139 | #520 | 0.10 |
| 1941 | 88 | #652 | 0.07 |
| 1940 | 67 | #756 | 0.06 |
| 1939 | 58 | #804 | 0.05 |
| 1938 | 45 | #948 | 0.04 |
| 1937 | 31 | #1,208 | 0.03 |
| 1936 | 23 | #1,414 | 0.02 |
| 1935 | 26 | #1,349 | 0.02 |
| 1934 | 17 | #1,779 | 0.02 |
| 1933 | 31 | #1,197 | 0.03 |
| 1932 | 25 | #1,421 | 0.02 |
| 1931 | 11 | #2,448 | 0.01 |
| 1930 | 18 | #1,811 | 0.02 |
| 1929 | 15 | #2,084 | 0.01 |
| 1928 | 18 | #1,893 | 0.02 |
| 1927 | 22 | #1,686 | 0.02 |
| 1926 | 21 | #1,708 | 0.02 |
| 1925 | 25 | #1,531 | 0.02 |
| 1924 | 12 | #2,618 | 0.01 |
| 1923 | 20 | #1,802 | 0.02 |
| 1922 | 24 | #1,584 | 0.02 |
| 1921 | 33 | #1,294 | 0.03 |
| 1920 | 26 | #1,498 | 0.02 |
| 1919 | 28 | #1,378 | 0.03 |
| 1918 | 37 | #1,150 | 0.04 |
| 1917 | 45 | #980 | 0.05 |
| 1916 | 35 | #1,114 | 0.04 |
| 1915 | 39 | #1,035 | 0.05 |
| 1914 | 32 | #1,000 | 0.05 |
| 1913 | 27 | #967 | 0.05 |
| 1912 | 20 | #1,053 | 0.05 |
| 1911 | 9 | #1,280 | 0.04 |
| 1910 | 13 | #922 | 0.07 |
| 1908 | 6 | #1,356 | 0.04 |
| 1907 | 5 | #1,521 | 0.03 |
| 1906 | 5 | #1,396 | 0.04 |
| 1903 | 5 | #1,287 | 0.04 |
| 1899 | 8 | #848 | 0.08 |
| 1898 | 6 | #1,106 | 0.05 |
| 1895 | 5 | #1,220 | 0.04 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Stephan a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Stephan has been given almost only to boys: 229 girls in 123 years of records.
Girls and boys named Stephan: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Stephan, and how old are they?
22,900 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 82% of the 27,910 Americans ever recorded as Stephan. The median Stephan alive today is 43 years old; half are between 31 and 61.
The 2020 Census counted 24,256 people named Stephan (253 women and girls, 24,003 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 23,464 born in the U.S. The Census count is 3% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 317 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 5,370 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 4,930 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 7,080 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 3,450 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,780 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Stephan born?
The states with the most babies named Stephan are Florida, Texas and California, with 85% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 12 | #1,116 | 1.3× |
| Texas | 11 | #1,637 | 0.6× |
| California | 10 | #1,669 | 1.0× |
| Indiana | 6 | #931 | 1.1× |
Where Stephan is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Stephan is most over-represented in New York: since 1910 it was given 1.3 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Stephan with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 7 names spelled alike, given to 927,241 babies since 1880, Stephan is the second most given (3.0% of them). In 2025 it was given to 86 of their 1,188 babies (7.2%), the third most given that year.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Stephan
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Stephan and names like it
- Compare Stephan and StephenBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1980sStephan peaked in 1989.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Stephan since 1910.
- The top names of 1989The year the most babies were named Stephan.
- The names of the MillennialsMost people named Stephan alive today were born 1981-1996.
- Names starting with SMost given first.