boy's name
Steven
STEE-ven
- Origin Greek
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 1,375,452
the United States
#271
2025 births
Steven is a boy's name from the Greek for crown or garland, and the phonetic respelling of Stephen. The respelling has outsold the original in our data — 1,361,643 births against 925,335 — which is a reversal that almost never happens with a name this old.
- Steven is a name of Greek origin.
- Peaked in 1956, when 38,491 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 2,629 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Steven 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 | 177 |
| 1890s | 186 |
| 1900s | 338 |
| 1910s | 2,531 |
| 1920s | 3,639 |
| 1930s | 4,834 |
| 1940s | 81,351 |
| 1950s | 334,277 |
| 1960s | 291,564 |
| 1970s | 189,169 |
| 1980s | 178,622 |
| 1990s | 121,467 |
| 2000s | 54,034 |
| 2010s | 26,907 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 8,494 |
What Steven means
Steven means crown or garland. The Greek word names the wreath given to a victor rather than a royal crown, so the sense is an honor won in competition rather than authority inherited.
Where Steven comes from
Steven is the v-spelling of Stephen, from the Greek stephanos, a crown, wreath or garland — specifically the wreath awarded to winners of games and to the honored dead, not the diadem of a monarch. Saint Stephen is named in Acts as the first Christian martyr, stoned outside Jerusalem, and the name spread across Christendom on that account. English kept the Greek ph in writing while pronouncing it as a v, and the Steven spelling simply writes down what everyone was already saying. That it then overtook the original in volume is unusual: respellings normally trail the form they come from.
Steven in use
Steven peaked in the United States in 1956, when 38,491 babies were registered, and now ranks 271st there on 1,261 births, 310th in Scotland, 898th in Ireland, 984th in England and Wales and 2670th in France — five markets. Its 1,361,643 lifetime births run well ahead of Stephen's 925,335, so the phonetic spelling carries roughly three-fifths of the total between them. Both are falling in our data, and Stephen holds the better position in Ireland while Steven leads in the United States.
How popular is Steven?
In 2025, Steven was given to 1,261 babies in the United States, ranking #271 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Steven 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 Steven is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Stéven | Stéven is a rare spelling of Steven, written with an acute accent and recorded about 20 times, mostly in France. | 20 |
Names that peaked alongside Steven
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Steven also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Steven over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Steven
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.
Steven 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 Steven
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Steven — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Steven
What does the name Steven mean?
Crown or garland — the Greek stephanos, the wreath given to a victor.
Is it Steven or Stephen?
Both. Stephen is the older spelling keeping the Greek ph; Steven writes the sound. Steven is the more used of the two in our data.
Which spelling is more common?
Steven, with 1,361,643 recorded births against Stephen's 925,335.
How popular is Steven?
271st in the United States, down from a 1956 peak of 38,491 births.
Is Steven a girl's or a boy's name?
Steven is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Steven?
Steven has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Steven?
Steven is usually shortened to Steve and Stevie.
Is Steven a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Steven currently ranks #271 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.