boy's name
Etienne
ay-TYEN
- Origin French
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 3
- Letters 7
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 97,068
Scotland
#564
2010 births
Etienne means crown, and the Greek behind it is the wreath given to victors — so a name now read as saintly began as a prize handed to the winner of a race. We record 88,741 lifetime births for it, strongest in France.
- Etienne is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in France in 1996, when 1,180 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 10,718 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1900.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Etienne over time
Births per decade in France, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 9,885 |
| 1910s | 8,145 |
| 1920s | 9,760 |
| 1930s | 7,470 |
| 1940s | 5,600 |
| 1950s | 6,625 |
| 1960s | 5,920 |
| 1970s | 5,115 |
| 1980s | 8,405 |
| 1990s | 10,275 |
| 2000s | 5,900 |
| 2010s | 2,375 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 765 |
What Etienne means
Etienne means a crown, or garland. The Greek stephanos names the wreath awarded for victory, so the original sense is a prize rather than a royal ornament.
Where Etienne comes from
Etienne is the French form of Stephen, from the Greek Stephanos — a crown or wreath, specifically the garland given to victors in games and to the honored dead. Stephen is the first Christian martyr, stoned in Acts, and the pun is deliberate in early Christian writing: the man named for a victor's wreath receives the martyr's crown. Saint-Étienne, Stefan, Esteban, István and Steve all descend from the same word.
Etienne in use
Etienne peaked in France in 1996, when 1,180 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 674th in France on 115 births, 1071st in England and Wales on 32 and 3966th in the United States on 32, across 97,068 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track. Our records carry it from 1900.
How popular is Etienne?
In 2025, Etienne was given to 55 babies in France, ranking #732 that year. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Etienne is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
How Etienne is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Étienne | Étienne is Etienne written with an acute accent, used in France, where it ranks #674. | 920 |
Names that peaked alongside Etienne
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Etienne also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Etienne over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Etienne in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Etienne
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Etienne — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Etienne
What does the name Etienne mean?
A crown — the Greek stephanos, the wreath given to victors.
Is Etienne the same as Stephen?
Yes, the French form. So are Esteban, Stefan and István.
Is the martyr's crown a pun?
Early Christian writers treated it as one — the man named for a victor's wreath receives the martyr's crown.
How popular is Etienne?
674th in France, its strongest market.
Is Etienne a girl's or a boy's name?
Etienne is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Etienne?
Etienne has 3 syllables.
Is Etienne a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Etienne currently ranks #599 in France. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.