Boys' name · since 1880
Steve
241,224 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.
- #163 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #1,609 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 241,224
- born since 1880
- 1960s
- peak decade
241,224 babies have been named Steve since 1880, making it today's #1609 boys' name.
Social Security Administration records show Steve recorded 241,224 times among boys since 1880, holding rank #1609 nationally today, ahead of 88% of boys, peaking in the 1960s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #163 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #1,609 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 241,224 born since 1880
- 1960s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Steve ranks #163 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,609 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 241,224 born since 1880, peaking in the 1960s.
- #163 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #1,609 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 241,224
- born since 1880
- 1960s
- peak decade
Steve's 241,224 recorded births place it above 99.64% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Steve compares
241,224 Top 2% higher than 98% of 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys 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
Steve's all-time total is 654x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Steve | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 241,224 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 11,068 | 34 | 22,252 |
Steve's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Divide Steve's SSA record in two at 1953 and the more recent half accounts for 66% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 34%, consistent with a name still gaining ground rather than fading. Its calmest year was 1881, with only 44 births recorded -- set against the 1959 peak of 11,068, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.
Steve popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1959)
- 11,068
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Steve popularity over time - girls
907 total births recorded since 1912 (Steve as girls' name)
Steve by decade
1960s is the heaviest window (65,619 births, 27% of the file).
1960s was Steve's strongest decade.
65,619 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 27% of all-time use.
Steve births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 618
1880s
618 births
- 1890s 752
1890s
752 births
- 1900s 1,307
1900s
1,307 births
- 1910s 9,638
1910s
9,638 births
- 1920s 11,354
1920s
11,354 births
- 1930s 8,572
1930s
8,572 births
- 1940s
1940s
36,286 births
- 1950s
1950s
64,212 births
- 1960s
1960s
65,619 births
- 1970s 16,652
1970s
16,652 births
- 1980s 10,392
1980s
10,392 births
- 1990s 7,654
1990s
7,654 births
- 2000s 5,097
2000s
5,097 births
- 2010s 2,348
2010s
2,348 births
- 2020s 723
2020s
723 births
What this shows Peak: 1960s at 65,619 births (27% of all-time use).
How Steve compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Steve's total volume
Steve by state
Where Steve concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 33,571 | 13.9% |
| #2 | Texas | | 15,085 | 6.3% |
| #3 | Ohio | | 14,192 | 5.9% |
| #4 | Illinois | | 14,091 | 5.8% |
| #5 | Pennsylvania | | 12,305 | 5.1% |
| #6 | New York | | 12,300 | 5.1% |
| #7 | Michigan | | 10,007 | 4.1% |
| #8 | Indiana | | 7,148 | 3.0% |
33,571 of 241,224 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Steve appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Steve? ▼
Where does Steve sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Steve most popular? ▼
Where is Steve most popular? ▼
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What names are similar to Steve? ▼
What to do with Steve's data
- Steve's decade-level peak was the 1960s (65,619 total births); usage has since declined to 723 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Steves (33,571 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 Steve
Nearby Names Like Steve
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Steve
Compare Steve side by side: Steve vs Steven Steve vs Stephen Steve vs Sterling
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Steve
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Steve: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1959)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
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, 1880–2025 (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 Steve 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.