Girls' name · since 1891

Stephanie

Stephanie has 745,148 recorded births since 1891 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1990 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.

#31 of 72,339
all-time among girls
#557 of 17,297
2025 SSA year
745,148
born since 1891
1980s
peak decade

Stephanie currently ranks #557 among girls' names in America, with 745,148 babies recorded since 1891.

Stephanie has 745,148 recorded births among girls since 1891, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #557 as of the latest data, more common than 97% of girls, busiest in the 1980s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1891 to 2025.

  • #31 of 72,339 all-time among girls
  • #557 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
  • 745,148 born since 1891
  • 1980s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Stephanie ranks #31 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #557 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 745,148 born since 1891, peaking in the 1980s.

#31 of 72,339
all-time among girls
#557 of 17,297
2025 SSA year
745,148
born since 1891
1980s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%96.7%
Stephanie vs. every other girls name in current SSA rankings
Upper archive tier
All-time archive position

Stephanie's 745,148 recorded births place it above 99.95% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.

51 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.

How Stephanie compares

745,148 Top 1% higher than 99% of 17,297 names currently given to girls

Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.

Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data

How the numbers stack up

Stephanie's all-time total is 1,982x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Stephanie Median girls name (Kyann) #1 girls name (Olivia)
All-time total births 745,148 376 567,345
Peak-year births 24,864 21 19,840

Stephanie's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Divide Stephanie's SSA record in two at 1958 and the more recent half accounts for 94% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 6%, consistent with a name still gaining ground rather than fading. Its calmest year was 1891, with only 5 births recorded -- set against the 1990 peak of 24,864, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.

Stephanie popularity over time - girls

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1891–2025

Top 1,000 girls' name
Peak year (1990)
24,864
Annual births at peak, across 135 years of records
010,00020,00030,000 189119081925194219591976199320102025 543

Stephanie popularity over time - boys

2,638 total births recorded since 1947 (Stephanie as boys' name)

Unisex variant - 2,638 births
050100150 194719591967197519831991199920072011 6

Stephanie by decade

1980s is the heaviest window (218,173 births, 29% of the file).

1980s was Stephanie's strongest decade.

218,173 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 29% of all-time use.

Stephanie births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 1980s at 218,173 births (29% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

How Stephanie compares to similarly-sized names

Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Stephanie's total volume

Stephanie vs 15 similarly-sized girls names Scatter plot of 16 data points. 0%2%4%6%8% 100110120130140150 New & already peakedOld name, single-era peakNew & still diversifyingLong history, steady all along Years in SSA records % of total births in the single peak year -146, 7.4%-146, 2.2%-146, 4.5%-126, 3.9%-146, 2.9%-146, 3.7%-146, 5.5%-146, 4.6%-146, 5.3%-146, 2.4%-146, 6.2%-111, 4.2%-146, 4.2%-146, 3.8%-146, 1.8%Stephanie-135, 3.3%Stephanie
Stephanie vs 15 similarly-sized girls names

Stephanie by state

Where Stephanie concentrates geographically, total births since 1891

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Stephanie
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
101,692 13.6%
#2 Texas
61,470 8.2%
#3 New York
56,946 7.6%
#4 Illinois
35,962 4.8%
#5 Pennsylvania
33,848 4.5%
#6 Ohio
33,120 4.4%
#7 Florida
32,370 4.3%
#8 Michigan
25,916 3.5%
California share of Stephanie's total US births 13.6%
Even split

101,692 of 745,148 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Stephanie appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Stephanie?
745,148 babies have been named Stephanie since 1891. All-time, it sits at #31 of 72,339 girls' names by recorded births. In 2025, it ranks #557 of 17,297 among girls. The peak year was 1990 with 24,864 births.
Where does Stephanie sit in the SSA name archive?
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Stephanie ranks #31 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #557 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the 2025 SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Stephanie most popular?
Stephanie was most popular in the 1980s decade with 218,173 total births. The single peak year was 1990.
Where is Stephanie most popular?
The top states for the name Stephanie are California (101,692 births), Texas (61,470 births), New York (56,946 births).
How long has the name Stephanie been used?
Records for Stephanie go back to 1891, giving 135 years of history through 2025.
What names are similar to Stephanie?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Stella, Stefanie, Stevie, Stephany, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

What to do with Stephanie's data

  • Stephanie's decade-level peak was the 1980s (218,173 total births); usage has since declined to 3,827 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
  • California records the most Stephanies (101,692 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names

Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.

Keep exploring Stephanie

Nearby Names Like Stephanie

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Stephanie

Names with a similar popularity rank to Stephanie

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Stephanie: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.

Data Sources

Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1891–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).

Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Stephanie draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.