boy's name
Steve
STEEV
- Origin Greek
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 5
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 266,769
Northern Ireland
#300
2002 births
Steve is a boy's name, the short form of Steven or Stephen, meaning crown or garland. It ranks 623rd in Ireland — its strongest market — against 1615th in the United States, where nearly all its volume was registered.
- Steve is a name of Greek origin.
- Peaked in 1959, when 11,095 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 31,576 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Steve over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 618 |
| 1890s | 752 |
| 1900s | 1,307 |
| 1910s | 9,671 |
| 1920s | 11,430 |
| 1930s | 8,606 |
| 1940s | 36,380 |
| 1950s | 64,417 |
| 1960s | 65,819 |
| 1970s | 16,781 |
| 1980s | 10,495 |
| 1990s | 7,687 |
| 2000s | 5,097 |
| 2010s | 2,348 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 723 |
What Steve means
Steve means crown or garland. The Greek word names the wreath given to a victor at games rather than a royal crown, so the sense is an honor won rather than inherited.
Where Steve comes from
Steve is clipped from Steven or Stephen, from the Greek stephanos — a wreath or garland awarded to winners of games and to the honored dead. Saint Stephen appears in Acts as the first Christian martyr, stoned outside Jerusalem while Saul of Tarsus looked on, and the name spread across Christendom on that account. Steve became a registered name in its own right in twentieth-century America, part of the same habit that produced Fred, Larry, Jerry and Tony as full names rather than nicknames.
Steve in use
Steve peaked in the United States in 1959, when 11,095 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 623rd in Ireland on 5 births, 1499th in England and Wales on 18, 1615th in the United States on 105 and 5763rd in France, across 266,769 lifetime births in five of the seven markets we track. Both parent spellings, Steven and Stephen, are written up separately and each holds more than three times its volume.
How popular is Steve?
In 2025, Steve was given to 105 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Steve 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 Steve is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Stève | Stève is a rare spelling of Steve, written with a grave accent and recorded about 430 times, mostly in France. | 430 |
| Stéve | Stéve is a rare spelling of Steve, written with an acute accent and recorded about 10 times, mostly in France. | 10 |
Names that peaked alongside Steve
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Steve also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Steve over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Steve 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 Steve
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Steve — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Steve
What does the name Steve mean?
Crown or garland — the Greek stephanos, the wreath given to a victor.
Is Steve a full name?
It is widely registered as one in America, though it began as a short form of Steven or Stephen.
Is Steve short for Steven or Stephen?
Either — the two spellings are separate names in our data and both give Steve.
How popular is Steve?
1615th in the United States and 623rd in Ireland.
Is Steve a girl's or a boy's name?
Steve is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Steve?
Steve has 1 syllable.
Is Steve a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Steve currently ranks #623 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.