Steven
Steven was given to 1,261 boys in 2025, #271 among boys’ names; 1,297,590 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 1.04 million Americans named Steven and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (80% of everyone recorded); the median is 56 years old and half are between 40 and 67.
Steven is the #18 most common first name among living American men and boys, by this estimate.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Steven by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Steven mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Steven is “a male given name from Ancient Greek, variant of Stephen.” Its etymology gives the senses “crown, wreath” (στέφανος) and “to put round, to surround” (στέφω).
Inherited from Middle English Stevene, Steven, from Anglo-Norman Estievne, Estievene, from Latin Stephanus, from Ancient Greek Στέφανος (Stéphanos), from στέφανος (stéphanos, “crown, wreath”), from στέφω (stéphō, “to put round, to surround”).
/ˈstiːvən/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Steven?
#271 among boys’ names, 2025
Steven fell from #153 in 2015 to #271 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 1.4 to 0.74 per 1,000.
38,491 babies in 1956, the peak
Steven peaked in 1956, when 38,491 babies were given it (38,413 boys, #10 among boys’ names). The 1,261 births of 2025 are 3% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,261 | #271 | 0.74 |
| 2024 | 1,291 | #268 | 0.75 |
| 2023 | 1,396 | #251 | 0.82 |
| 2022 | 1,351 | #256 | 0.77 |
| 2021 | 1,514 | #235 | 0.87 |
| 2020 | 1,681 | #222 | 1.0 |
| 2019 | 1,981 | #199 | 1.1 |
| 2018 | 2,045 | #198 | 1.1 |
| 2017 | 2,168 | #182 | 1.2 |
| 2016 | 2,401 | #167 | 1.3 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2,715 | #153 | 1.4 |
| 2014 | 2,809 | #144 | 1.5 |
| 2013 | 2,889 | #134 | 1.5 |
| 2012 | 3,241 | #112 | 1.7 |
| 2011 | 3,212 | #124 | 1.7 |
| 2010 | 3,436 | #116 | 1.8 |
| 2009 | 3,833 | #106 | 1.9 |
| 2008 | 4,228 | #104 | 2.1 |
| 2007 | 4,556 | #97 | 2.2 |
| 2006 | 4,824 | #90 | 2.3 |
| 2005 | 5,079 | #83 | 2.5 |
| 2004 | 5,357 | #78 | 2.7 |
| 2003 | 5,860 | #70 | 3.0 |
| 2002 | 6,222 | #68 | 3.2 |
| 2001 | 6,589 | #63 | 3.4 |
| 2000 | 7,361 | #54 | 3.7 |
| 1999 | 7,689 | #47 | 4.0 |
| 1998 | 8,115 | #46 | 4.2 |
| 1997 | 8,765 | #40 | 4.6 |
| 1996 | 9,650 | #38 | 5.1 |
| 1995 | 10,661 | #37 | 5.6 |
| 1994 | 12,090 | #34 | 6.3 |
| 1993 | 13,474 | #31 | 6.9 |
| 1992 | 15,039 | #29 | 7.5 |
| 1991 | 16,863 | #27 | 8.3 |
| 1990 | 18,764 | #25 | 9.1 |
| 1989 | 18,929 | #22 | 9.5 |
| 1988 | 17,865 | #24 | 9.3 |
| 1987 | 17,768 | #25 | 9.5 |
| 1986 | 18,099 | #25 | 9.8 |
| 1985 | 18,726 | #24 | 10.1 |
| 1984 | 18,217 | #23 | 10.1 |
| 1983 | 18,307 | #23 | 10.2 |
| 1982 | 17,145 | #26 | 9.4 |
| 1981 | 16,482 | #28 | 9.2 |
| 1980 | 15,916 | #28 | 8.9 |
| 1979 | 16,331 | #27 | 9.5 |
| 1978 | 16,390 | #24 | 10.0 |
| 1977 | 16,484 | #23 | 10.0 |
| 1976 | 16,650 | #20 | 10.6 |
| 1975 | 17,055 | #18 | 10.9 |
| 1974 | 17,663 | #19 | 11.2 |
| 1973 | 17,175 | #20 | 11.0 |
| 1972 | 19,851 | #19 | 12.2 |
| 1971 | 23,686 | #16 | 13.4 |
| 1970 | 26,793 | #15 | 14.4 |
| 1969 | 26,532 | #14 | 14.8 |
| 1968 | 25,493 | #15 | 14.7 |
| 1967 | 27,031 | #14 | 15.5 |
| 1966 | 27,698 | #13 | 15.5 |
| 1965 | 27,977 | #14 | 15.0 |
| 1964 | 29,707 | #12 | 14.9 |
| 1963 | 29,328 | #14 | 14.4 |
| 1962 | 30,688 | #12 | 14.8 |
| 1961 | 32,275 | #10 | 15.2 |
| 1960 | 33,878 | #10 | 15.9 |
| 1959 | 33,597 | #10 | 15.7 |
| 1958 | 32,968 | #10 | 15.5 |
| 1957 | 36,842 | #10 | 17.1 |
| 1956 | 38,413 | #10 | 18.2 |
| 1955 | 37,847 | #10 | 18.4 |
| 1954 | 36,628 | #11 | 18.0 |
| 1953 | 33,721 | #11 | 17.1 |
| 1952 | 32,037 | #11 | 16.5 |
| 1951 | 28,363 | #13 | 15.1 |
| 1950 | 23,250 | #16 | 13.0 |
| 1949 | 19,923 | #20 | 11.2 |
| 1948 | 15,979 | #23 | 9.1 |
| 1947 | 13,528 | #24 | 7.4 |
| 1946 | 8,878 | #28 | 5.5 |
| 1945 | 5,974 | #43 | 4.4 |
| 1944 | 5,113 | #52 | 3.8 |
| 1943 | 4,267 | #58 | 3.0 |
| 1942 | 3,505 | #75 | 2.5 |
| 1941 | 2,468 | #90 | 2.0 |
| 1940 | 1,569 | #119 | 1.4 |
| 1939 | 1,130 | #144 | 1.0 |
| 1938 | 772 | #184 | 0.70 |
| 1937 | 534 | #224 | 0.50 |
| 1936 | 443 | #252 | 0.43 |
| 1935 | 409 | #270 | 0.39 |
| 1934 | 322 | #303 | 0.31 |
| 1933 | 296 | #312 | 0.30 |
| 1932 | 325 | #306 | 0.31 |
| 1931 | 292 | #319 | 0.28 |
| 1930 | 311 | #315 | 0.28 |
| 1929 | 296 | #323 | 0.28 |
| 1928 | 350 | #299 | 0.32 |
| 1927 | 336 | #314 | 0.30 |
| 1926 | 348 | #304 | 0.31 |
| 1925 | 398 | #288 | 0.36 |
| 1924 | 321 | #325 | 0.28 |
| 1923 | 347 | #304 | 0.32 |
| 1922 | 395 | #280 | 0.36 |
| 1921 | 430 | #269 | 0.39 |
| 1920 | 418 | #270 | 0.39 |
| 1919 | 381 | #269 | 0.39 |
| 1918 | 378 | #273 | 0.37 |
| 1917 | 385 | #260 | 0.42 |
| 1916 | 367 | #258 | 0.41 |
| 1915 | 298 | #289 | 0.35 |
| 1914 | 254 | #274 | 0.39 |
| 1913 | 177 | #299 | 0.35 |
| 1912 | 151 | #293 | 0.35 |
| 1911 | 74 | #319 | 0.33 |
| 1910 | 66 | #303 | 0.34 |
| 1909 | 55 | #314 | 0.34 |
| 1908 | 40 | #363 | 0.26 |
| 1907 | 36 | #379 | 0.25 |
| 1906 | 34 | #361 | 0.26 |
| 1905 | 25 | #448 | 0.19 |
| 1904 | 25 | #429 | 0.20 |
| 1903 | 25 | #397 | 0.21 |
| 1902 | 32 | #353 | 0.26 |
| 1901 | 24 | #393 | 0.23 |
| 1900 | 42 | #335 | 0.28 |
| 1899 | 18 | #455 | 0.17 |
| 1898 | 26 | #391 | 0.21 |
| 1897 | 17 | #492 | 0.15 |
| 1896 | 17 | #516 | 0.14 |
| 1895 | 16 | #526 | 0.14 |
| 1894 | 13 | #592 | 0.11 |
| 1893 | 20 | #417 | 0.18 |
| 1892 | 21 | #419 | 0.17 |
| 1891 | 18 | #426 | 0.18 |
| 1890 | 20 | #413 | 0.18 |
| 1889 | 14 | #520 | 0.13 |
| 1888 | 20 | #428 | 0.17 |
| 1887 | 15 | #455 | 0.15 |
| 1886 | 20 | #401 | 0.18 |
| 1885 | 21 | #397 | 0.19 |
| 1884 | 20 | #414 | 0.17 |
| 1883 | 13 | #520 | 0.12 |
| 1882 | 22 | #386 | 0.19 |
| 1881 | 15 | #456 | 0.15 |
| 1880 | 17 | #441 | 0.15 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Steven a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Steven has been given almost only to boys: 4,466 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Steven: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Steven, and how old are they?
1.04 million alive in 2026, estimated
That is 80% of the 1,297,590 Americans ever recorded as Steven. The median Steven alive today is 56 years old; half are between 40 and 67.
The 2020 Census counted 972,808 people named Steven (838 women and girls, 971,970 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 1,099,556 born in the U.S. The Census count is 12% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 9,580 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 374,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 298,000 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 246,000 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 86,900 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 25,300 |
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 Steven born?
The states with the most babies named Steven are California, New York and Illinois, with 27% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 154,037 | #294 | 1.2× |
| New York | 116,579 | #242 | 1.1× |
| Illinois | 76,865 | #324 | 1.1× |
| Ohio | 65,565 | #228 | 1.0× |
| Michigan | 62,741 | #246 | 1.1× |
| Texas | 62,458 | #308 | 0.7× |
| Pennsylvania | 57,824 | #172 | 0.8× |
| New Jersey | 39,917 | #168 | 1.0× |
| Wisconsin | 38,067 | #514 | 1.3× |
| Indiana | 37,954 | #235 | 1.1× |
Where Steven is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Steven is most over-represented in Iowa: 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 Steven 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 5 names spelled alike, given to 1,303,167 babies since 1880, Steven is the most given (100% of them). In 2025 it was given to 1,261 of their 1,273 babies (99%), again the most given.
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 Steven
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 Steven and names like it
- Compare Steven and StevanBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sSteven peaked in 1956.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Steven since 1910.
- The top names of 1956The year the most babies were named Steven.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Steven alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with SMost given first.