Steve — #1681 US boys' name
241,122 babies named Steve in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1959. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
More common than 88% of names given to boys today.
27% of everyone ever named Steve was born in this single decade.
11,067 babies were named Steve in 1959 — its busiest year on record.
What the Data Says About Steve
The Social Security Administration has registered 241,122 babies named Steve between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Steve currently holds the #1681 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1959, when 11,067 babies received it in a single year.
Decade-level aggregation shows that Steve performed strongest in the 1960s, accumulating 65,620 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Steve shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in California, which accounts for 33,551 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Texas and Ohio. In total, SSA state-level files list Steve in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.
No etymological entry is currently available for Steve in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 241,122 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.
Steve at a glance
Outside the top 1,000Peak year
Current rank
Active since
Steve popularity over time — boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880
- Peak year (1959)
- 11,067
- Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
Currently ranks #1681 among boys.
241,122 total births across 145 years of SSA records. Peaked in 1959 with 11,067 births in a single year.
Steve popularity over time — girls
907 total births recorded since 1912 (Steve as girls' name)
Unisex use remains the minority pattern
The girls' variant of Steve accounts for 0% of total recorded use across both genders.
Steve by decade
Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance
- Peak decade
- 1960s
- 65,620 births that decade — 27% of Steve's all-time total
Steve decade highlights
- Peak decade 65,620 births
- Runner-up 64,215 births
- Modern era share 2010s + 2020s
- Decades tracked with recorded births
1960s was Steve's strongest decade
65,620 babies received the name during that ten-year window — about 27% of all-time use.
Steve by state
Where Steve concentrates geographically — total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 33,551 | 13.9% |
| #2 | Texas | | 15,078 | 6.3% |
| #3 | Ohio | | 14,190 | 5.9% |
| #4 | Illinois | | 14,084 | 5.8% |
| #5 | Pennsylvania | | 12,306 | 5.1% |
| #6 | New York | | 12,296 | 5.1% |
| #7 | Michigan | | 10,007 | 4.2% |
| #8 | Indiana | | 7,149 | 3.0% |
33,551 of 241,122 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Top 5 states
- California 13.9% of nationwide
- Texas 6.3% of nationwide
- Ohio 5.9% of nationwide
- Illinois 5.8% of nationwide
- Pennsylvania 5.1% of nationwide
Recorded in 51 of 51 SSA jurisdictions
California accounts for 13.9% of all recorded births nationwide — a relatively diffuse profile for this name.
Steve appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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Data Sources
Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.