boy's name
Stephan
STEF-un
- Origin German
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 7
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 43,274
Ireland
#379
2004 births
Stephan means a wreath, not a crown — stephanos was the woven victor's garland at the Greek games, which is why the first Christian martyr's name reads as a prize rather than a rank.
- Stephan is a name of German origin.
- Peaked in 1989, when 579 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 38,551 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1895.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Stephan over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1890s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1890s | 19 |
| 1900s | 21 |
| 1910s | 285 |
| 1920s | 216 |
| 1930s | 285 |
| 1940s | 1,931 |
| 1950s | 4,503 |
| 1960s | 4,335 |
| 1970s | 3,255 |
| 1980s | 4,388 |
| 1990s | 4,367 |
| 2000s | 2,040 |
| 2010s | 1,566 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 699 |
What Stephan means
Stephan means a wreath or garland. The Greek names the woven crown given to a victor, so it signifies an award earned rather than authority held.
Where Stephan comes from
Stephan is a German and French form of Stephen, from the Greek stephanos — a wreath, specifically the woven garland awarded at athletic games and in civic honors, rather than a royal diadem. Stephen is the first Christian martyr in Acts, stoned while Saul of Tarsus looks on, and the wreath became read as the martyr's crown. Saul, elsewhere on this site, is the same figure before he takes the name Paul.
Stephan in use
Stephan peaked in France in 1971, when 840 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It now ranks 1848th in the United States on 86 births, 3571st in England and Wales on 6 and 6216th in France on 5, across 43,274 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track. The American series peaks separately in 1989 on 579 births.
How popular is Stephan?
In 2025, Stephan was given to 86 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Stephan is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Stephan is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Stéphan | Stéphan is a rare spelling of Stephan, written with an acute accent and recorded about 1,055 times, mostly in France. | 1,055 |
Names that peaked alongside Stephan
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Stephan also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Stephan over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Stephan
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Stephan 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 Stephan
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Stephan — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Stephan
What does the name Stephan mean?
A wreath — the Greek stephanos, the woven victor's garland.
Is it a royal crown?
No. The stephanos was an award at games and civic honors, not a diadem.
Who was Saint Stephen?
The first Christian martyr, stoned while Saul of Tarsus looked on.
How popular is Stephan?
1848th in the United States, and stable rather than falling in our data.
Is Stephan a girl's or a boy's name?
Stephan is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Stephan?
Stephan has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Stephan?
Stephan is usually shortened to Steve.
Is Stephan a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Stephan currently ranks #1,848 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.