Stephen means crown — the PH-spelling of Steven, carrying the first martyr's heritage through the most traditional English orthography. Stephen Hawking understood the universe. Stephen King terrifies the world. Stephen Curry changed basketball. Stephen Colbert makes America laugh. The PH-spelling has been the standard for a thousand years of crowned achievement.
Greek stephanos (crown/garland)→Latin Stephanus→English Stephen
1
Greek roots
Stephen is the traditional PH-spelling of Steven, from the Greek stephanos meaning crown. Saint Stephen was the first Christian martyr. Stephen Hawking (1942–2018) was one of the greatest theoretical physicists in history. Stephen King is the bestselling horror/thriller author of all time. Stephen Curry revolutionised basketball with three-point shooting. Stephen Colbert hosts The Late Show.
2
First recorded
Earliest known use: Biblical — Saint Stephen was the first Christian martyr (Acts 7).
3
Today
Stephen remains a beloved choice, ranking #314 in the US. 866,834 babies have been named Stephen since 1880.
◈ Sources: Behind the Name, Oxford Dictionary of First Names, SSA data
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How popular is Stephen?
1952peak year
Its strongest stretch was the 1950s — when Stephen was at its most popular. At its height in 1952, Stephen reached #21 nationally — 23,054 babies received it that single year. Today, Stephen is a moderately popular name in U.S. records (ranked #314) with about 1,121 babies named Stephen each year. Stephen's usage has fallen in recent decades. In all, around 866,834 babies have been registered as Stephen since 1880.
Year-by-year registrations1880–2024 · U.S. Social Security data
Stephen's Life Path 8 is the achiever's number — crowned achievement. People named Stephen tend to be brilliant, prolific, and gifted at achieving across wildly different fields.
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Achieves across fields
✦
Crowned brilliance
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Universe-understanding
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Terrifyingly prolific
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Changed the game
S1
T2
E5
P7
H8
E5
N5
Sum: 33 → Life path 6
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Personality of Stephen
❤️
Nurturing heart
They notice when someone is struggling before anyone else.
🏡
Creates warmth
Their circle is warmer for their presence.
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Strong morals
They know what's right and stand by it.
🌸
Quietly selfless
They give and give, often without realising how much.
Every name has a homeland. Discover strong boy names rooted in cultures from around the world — each with full meanings, origin stories and pronunciation.