Steve
Steve was given to 105 boys in 2025, #1,617 among boys’ names; 242,131 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 154,000 Americans named Steve and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (64% of everyone recorded); the median is 65 years old and half are between 56 and 70.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Steve by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Steve mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Steve is “a diminutive of the male given name Steven and Stephen; also used as a formal male given name.” Its etymology gives the sense “crown, wreath” (m).
Also “a diminutive of the female given name Stephanie.”
Shortening of various names ultimately derived from Latin Stephanus m, from Ancient Greek Στέφανος m (Stéphanos) from στέφανος m (stéphanos, “crown, wreath”)
/stiːv/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Steve?
#1,617 among boys’ names, 2025
Steve fell from #940 in 2015 to #1,617 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 0.12 to 0.06 per 1,000.
11,095 babies in 1959, the peak
Steve peaked in 1959, when 11,095 babies were given it (11,068 boys, #41 among boys’ names). The 105 births of 2025 are under 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 105 | #1,617 | 0.06 |
| 2024 | 99 | #1,697 | 0.06 |
| 2023 | 114 | #1,545 | 0.07 |
| 2022 | 122 | #1,490 | 0.07 |
| 2021 | 135 | #1,370 | 0.08 |
| 2020 | 148 | #1,253 | 0.09 |
| 2019 | 159 | #1,207 | 0.09 |
| 2018 | 167 | #1,153 | 0.09 |
| 2017 | 189 | #1,057 | 0.10 |
| 2016 | 205 | #997 | 0.11 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 224 | #940 | 0.12 |
| 2014 | 256 | #863 | 0.13 |
| 2013 | 242 | #875 | 0.13 |
| 2012 | 303 | #756 | 0.16 |
| 2011 | 324 | #708 | 0.17 |
| 2010 | 279 | #786 | 0.15 |
| 2009 | 415 | #611 | 0.21 |
| 2008 | 422 | #597 | 0.21 |
| 2007 | 448 | #576 | 0.22 |
| 2006 | 472 | #535 | 0.23 |
| 2005 | 475 | #519 | 0.24 |
| 2004 | 484 | #507 | 0.24 |
| 2003 | 563 | #446 | 0.29 |
| 2002 | 545 | #451 | 0.28 |
| 2001 | 624 | #401 | 0.32 |
| 2000 | 649 | #394 | 0.33 |
| 1999 | 660 | #390 | 0.34 |
| 1998 | 635 | #390 | 0.33 |
| 1997 | 627 | #386 | 0.33 |
| 1996 | 648 | #370 | 0.34 |
| 1995 | 754 | #334 | 0.40 |
| 1994 | 714 | #345 | 0.37 |
| 1993 | 831 | #319 | 0.42 |
| 1992 | 882 | #303 | 0.44 |
| 1991 | 896 | #290 | 0.44 |
| 1990 | 1,007 | #267 | 0.49 |
| 1989 | 997 | #255 | 0.50 |
| 1988 | 949 | #248 | 0.50 |
| 1987 | 1,004 | #233 | 0.54 |
| 1986 | 989 | #235 | 0.54 |
| 1985 | 990 | #234 | 0.54 |
| 1984 | 1,042 | #218 | 0.58 |
| 1983 | 1,063 | #215 | 0.59 |
| 1982 | 1,024 | #229 | 0.56 |
| 1981 | 1,116 | #220 | 0.62 |
| 1980 | 1,218 | #201 | 0.68 |
| 1979 | 1,254 | #193 | 0.73 |
| 1978 | 1,236 | #193 | 0.75 |
| 1977 | 1,270 | #182 | 0.77 |
| 1976 | 1,407 | #167 | 0.90 |
| 1975 | 1,383 | #171 | 0.89 |
| 1974 | 1,443 | #167 | 0.92 |
| 1973 | 1,511 | #160 | 1.0 |
| 1972 | 1,845 | #143 | 1.1 |
| 1971 | 2,373 | #131 | 1.3 |
| 1970 | 2,930 | #114 | 1.6 |
| 1969 | 3,062 | #98 | 1.7 |
| 1968 | 3,408 | #89 | 2.0 |
| 1967 | 3,909 | #79 | 2.2 |
| 1966 | 4,617 | #67 | 2.6 |
| 1965 | 5,685 | #55 | 3.1 |
| 1964 | 7,092 | #51 | 3.6 |
| 1963 | 8,050 | #49 | 4.0 |
| 1962 | 9,154 | #46 | 4.4 |
| 1961 | 9,997 | #45 | 4.7 |
| 1960 | 10,645 | #43 | 5.0 |
| 1959 | 11,068 | #41 | 5.2 |
| 1958 | 10,079 | #44 | 4.7 |
| 1957 | 8,910 | #44 | 4.1 |
| 1956 | 6,472 | #59 | 3.1 |
| 1955 | 5,509 | #72 | 2.7 |
| 1954 | 5,062 | #76 | 2.5 |
| 1953 | 4,539 | #84 | 2.3 |
| 1952 | 4,313 | #85 | 2.2 |
| 1951 | 4,053 | #86 | 2.2 |
| 1950 | 4,207 | #83 | 2.3 |
| 1949 | 5,027 | #68 | 2.8 |
| 1948 | 5,742 | #60 | 3.3 |
| 1947 | 6,231 | #58 | 3.4 |
| 1946 | 4,570 | #69 | 2.8 |
| 1945 | 3,384 | #79 | 2.5 |
| 1944 | 2,836 | #89 | 2.1 |
| 1943 | 2,684 | #93 | 1.9 |
| 1942 | 2,376 | #102 | 1.7 |
| 1941 | 1,881 | #112 | 1.5 |
| 1940 | 1,555 | #121 | 1.3 |
| 1939 | 1,208 | #139 | 1.1 |
| 1938 | 1,077 | #149 | 1.0 |
| 1937 | 846 | #172 | 0.79 |
| 1936 | 741 | #178 | 0.71 |
| 1935 | 773 | #176 | 0.74 |
| 1934 | 771 | #176 | 0.75 |
| 1933 | 728 | #179 | 0.73 |
| 1932 | 780 | #177 | 0.75 |
| 1931 | 786 | #173 | 0.76 |
| 1930 | 862 | #169 | 0.79 |
| 1929 | 887 | #162 | 0.82 |
| 1928 | 925 | #162 | 0.84 |
| 1927 | 1,027 | #154 | 0.91 |
| 1926 | 1,052 | #151 | 0.95 |
| 1925 | 1,145 | #144 | 1.0 |
| 1924 | 1,219 | #139 | 1.1 |
| 1923 | 1,255 | #133 | 1.1 |
| 1922 | 1,269 | #130 | 1.2 |
| 1921 | 1,294 | #130 | 1.2 |
| 1920 | 1,281 | #127 | 1.2 |
| 1919 | 1,294 | #125 | 1.3 |
| 1918 | 1,523 | #109 | 1.5 |
| 1917 | 1,385 | #112 | 1.5 |
| 1916 | 1,399 | #108 | 1.6 |
| 1915 | 1,335 | #110 | 1.6 |
| 1914 | 998 | #112 | 1.5 |
| 1913 | 661 | #121 | 1.3 |
| 1912 | 543 | #123 | 1.3 |
| 1911 | 255 | #133 | 1.1 |
| 1910 | 245 | #136 | 1.3 |
| 1909 | 187 | #141 | 1.1 |
| 1908 | 149 | #161 | 1.0 |
| 1907 | 157 | #148 | 1.1 |
| 1906 | 131 | #153 | 1.0 |
| 1905 | 126 | #161 | 1.0 |
| 1904 | 123 | #156 | 1.0 |
| 1903 | 127 | #147 | 1.1 |
| 1902 | 92 | #182 | 0.75 |
| 1901 | 76 | #194 | 0.71 |
| 1900 | 139 | #150 | 0.92 |
| 1899 | 78 | #182 | 0.73 |
| 1898 | 87 | #182 | 0.71 |
| 1897 | 79 | #193 | 0.70 |
| 1896 | 94 | #172 | 0.79 |
| 1895 | 71 | #204 | 0.60 |
| 1894 | 80 | #187 | 0.69 |
| 1893 | 73 | #198 | 0.65 |
| 1892 | 68 | #216 | 0.56 |
| 1891 | 56 | #213 | 0.55 |
| 1890 | 66 | #202 | 0.59 |
| 1889 | 64 | #204 | 0.58 |
| 1888 | 83 | #179 | 0.69 |
| 1887 | 54 | #215 | 0.53 |
| 1886 | 70 | #193 | 0.63 |
| 1885 | 60 | #205 | 0.56 |
| 1884 | 66 | #203 | 0.58 |
| 1883 | 62 | #191 | 0.59 |
| 1882 | 63 | #204 | 0.55 |
| 1881 | 44 | #232 | 0.44 |
| 1880 | 52 | #232 | 0.47 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Steve a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Steve has been given almost only to boys: 907 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Steve: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Steve, and how old are they?
154,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 64% of the 242,131 Americans ever recorded as Steve. The median Steve alive today is 65 years old; half are between 56 and 70.
The 2020 Census counted 262,435 people named Steve (395 women and girls, 262,040 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 170,646 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1.5 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census records the name people give, which for many is the short form Steve rather than the name on their birth record, and it counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 6,750 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 89,700 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 33,500 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 14,300 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 7,790 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 2,150 |
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 Steve born?
The states with the most babies named Steve are California, Texas and Ohio, with 27% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 33,611 | #1,036 | 1.7× |
| Texas | 15,085 | #2,054 | 1.0× |
| Ohio | 14,192 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Illinois | 14,091 | #1,454 | 1.1× |
| Pennsylvania | 12,305 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| New York | 12,300 | #2,005 | 0.6× |
| Michigan | 10,007 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Indiana | 7,148 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| North Carolina | 6,626 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Georgia | 6,456 | #1,071 | 1.0× |
Where Steve is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Steve is most over-represented in California: since 1910 it was given 1.7 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 Steve with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Steve
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 Steve and names like it
- Compare Steve and MikeBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sSteve peaked in 1959.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Steve since 1910.
- The top names of 1959The year the most babies were named Steve.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Steve alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with SMost given first.