Meaning not yet researched.
Stephen: US boys given the name each year, 1880 to 2025, from Social Security card applications. 829 in 2025. Its best rank was #19 in 1951.
US births per year · SSA card applications
Peaked at #19 in 1951; #383 in 2025. Every baby recorded as Stephen in 2025 was a boy.
Baby name · US data 1880–2025
#383 for US boys in 2025. Its best year was 1951, at #19.
Hover, tap or use the arrow keys for any year. Years with fewer than five babies of a sex are not published by SSA and show as zero.
Stephen: US boys given the name each year from 1880 to 2025. 829 boys in 2025. Peak: #19 in 1951 · most boys in one year: 23,055 (1952).
In 2025, 829 US boys were named Stephen, making it the 383rd most common boys’ name of the year, down 8 places from #375 in 2024. That is 41 fewer than the 870 boys named Stephen in 2024. Its best rank for boys was #19, reached in 1951. The most boys given the name in a single year was 23,055, in 1952. For comparison, it was #246 in 2015 and #19 in 1950.
Social Security card records list Stephen in every one of the 146 years from 1880 to 2025; in 1880 there were 176 babies with the name. In all, 867,669 US babies have been given the name, 0.3% of them girls and 99.6% boys. Its busiest decade was the 1950s, with 207,627 babies named Stephen.
Over the 10 years from 2016 to 2025, 10,552 US boys were named Stephen; the busiest of those years was 2016, with 1,379. In 2025 that was about 1 in 2,060 of the boys in SSA’s list for the year.
Among the states, Stephen ranked highest in Pennsylvania in 2025, at #200 for boys there. It was not in the top 100 of any state. Related spellings in the SSA files include Steven (1,297,590 babies since 1880), Steve (242,131 babies since 1880), Esteban (35,623 babies since 1880) and Stephan (27,910 babies since 1880). Rarer spellings such as Stephone, Stephene and Stephaun are summarised on this page. The open nickname list we use links it to Steph and Steve.
Meaning not yet researched.
We publish a meaning only with a cited source and a confidence label, and never generate one. Meanings are being researched for the most common names first.
Rare spellings summarised here: Stephone (723), Stephene (281), Stephaun (132), Stephfon (66), Stephin (6), Stefphon (5), Stepheon (5), Stephun (5), Stephfan (5).
Numbers are all-time US births. Links come from Wikidata’s “said to be the same as” (P460, CC0) and our spelling rule: at most two letters different, with the same sound pattern.
US boys. Rank within each state. SSA leaves out states where fewer than five boys got the name, so 14 are not listed.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank 2025 | Rank 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 64 | #200 | #155 |
| West Virginia | 8 | #248 | — |
| Mississippi | 13 | #256 | #216 |
| Connecticut | 12 | #277 | #178 |
| Maryland | 20 | #283 | #175 |
| Massachusetts | 21 | #287 | #151 |
| Virginia | 26 | #326 | #178 |
| New York | 54 | #332 | #243 |
| Ohio | 34 | #339 | #225 |
| New Jersey | 25 | #343 | #219 |
| Georgia | 33 | #367 | #284 |
| Louisiana | 14 | #369 | #248 |
| Kentucky | 14 | #372 | #176 |
| Iowa | 10 | #375 | — |
| Indiana | 20 | #377 | #285 |
| South Carolina | 14 | #382 | #177 |
| Wisconsin | 14 | #390 | #373 |
| North Carolina | 29 | #397 | #228 |
| Alabama | 14 | #398 | #159 |
| Tennessee | 20 | #406 | #246 |
| Michigan | 22 | #407 | #243 |
| Oklahoma | 11 | #424 | #263 |
| California | 75 | #432 | #287 |
| Texas | 78 | #433 | #312 |
| Florida | 42 | #449 | #219 |
| Arkansas | 7 | #487 | #233 |
| Colorado | 12 | #497 | #335 |
| Nebraska | 5 | #505 | #264 |
| Nevada | 6 | #505 | #233 |
| Missouri | 12 | #512 | #323 |
| Kansas | 7 | #514 | #264 |
| Illinois | 19 | #529 | #372 |
| Arizona | 13 | #555 | #297 |
| Utah | 7 | #611 | #377 |
| Washington | 10 | #677 | #317 |
| Oregon | 5 | #697 | #395 |
| Minnesota | 7 | #705 | #383 |
Births and national rank for each year SSA lists the name, newest first.
| Year | Girls | Girls rank | Boys | Boys rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | — | — | 829 | #383 |
| 2024 | — | — | 870 | #375 |
| 2023 | — | — | 898 | #363 |
| 2022 | — | — | 919 | #358 |
| 2021 | — | — | 958 | #342 |
| 2020 | — | — | 1,024 | #322 |
| 2019 | — | — | 1,095 | #310 |
| 2018 | — | — | 1,246 | #283 |
| 2017 | — | — | 1,334 | #270 |
| 2016 | — | — | 1,379 | #265 |
| 2015 | — | — | 1,497 | #246 |
| 2014 | — | — | 1,452 | #257 |
| 2013 | — | — | 1,452 | #252 |
| 2012 | — | — | 1,568 | #225 |
| 2011 | — | — | 1,579 | #229 |
| 2010 | — | — | 1,820 | #201 |
| 2009 | — | — | 1,920 | #200 |
| 2008 | — | — | 2,092 | #192 |
| 2007 | 6 | #17,359 | 2,376 | #172 |
| 2006 | — | — | 2,552 | #164 |
| 2005 | 9 | #11,726 | 2,745 | #143 |
| 2004 | 10 | #10,585 | 2,851 | #140 |
| 2003 | 6 | #15,535 | 3,142 | #128 |
| 2002 | 10 | #10,147 | 3,349 | #114 |
| 2001 | — | — | 3,738 | #102 |
| 2000 | 8 | #11,664 | 4,137 | #95 |
| 1999 | 14 | #7,183 | 4,543 | #85 |
| 1998 | 7 | #12,262 | 5,013 | #78 |
| 1997 | 14 | #6,800 | 5,414 | #68 |
| 1996 | 18 | #5,501 | 6,008 | #59 |
| 1995 | 19 | #5,192 | 6,556 | #57 |
| 1994 | 17 | #5,681 | 7,481 | #49 |
| 1993 | 14 | #6,581 | 8,369 | #47 |
| 1992 | 42 | #2,866 | 9,308 | #45 |
| 1991 | 39 | #2,986 | 10,525 | #41 |
| 1990 | 36 | #3,146 | 11,943 | #39 |
| 1989 | 60 | #2,093 | 11,736 | #40 |
| 1988 | 67 | #1,861 | 11,607 | #40 |
| 1987 | 75 | #1,645 | 11,550 | #38 |
| 1986 | 84 | #1,492 | 11,877 | #36 |
| 1985 | 97 | #1,360 | 12,210 | #36 |
| 1984 | 75 | #1,533 | 12,096 | #35 |
| 1983 | 79 | #1,472 | 11,564 | #35 |
| 1982 | 71 | #1,638 | 10,627 | #38 |
| 1981 | 63 | #1,786 | 10,302 | #39 |
| 1980 | 67 | #1,702 | 10,062 | #40 |
| 1979 | 63 | #1,751 | 9,903 | #40 |
| 1978 | 83 | #1,408 | 9,854 | #37 |
| 1977 | 61 | #1,714 | 9,635 | #38 |
| 1976 | 65 | #1,563 | 9,727 | #37 |
| 1975 | 70 | #1,478 | 9,732 | #34 |
| 1974 | 51 | #1,770 | 10,101 | #35 |
| 1973 | 70 | #1,415 | 9,955 | #32 |
| 1972 | 50 | #1,766 | 11,037 | #29 |
| 1971 | 73 | #1,441 | 13,102 | #27 |
| 1970 | 66 | #1,517 | 14,758 | #27 |
| 1969 | 61 | #1,529 | 15,090 | #27 |
| 1968 | 63 | #1,431 | 14,761 | #27 |
| 1967 | 71 | #1,297 | 15,087 | #26 |
| 1966 | 54 | #1,529 | 14,742 | #26 |
| 1965 | 34 | #2,026 | 14,648 | #28 |
| 1964 | 39 | #1,917 | 14,968 | #29 |
| 1963 | 40 | #1,865 | 14,992 | #29 |
| 1962 | 30 | #2,205 | 15,616 | #28 |
| 1961 | 35 | #1,996 | 16,069 | #27 |
| 1960 | 50 | #1,595 | 16,267 | #27 |
| 1959 | 28 | #2,185 | 16,504 | #28 |
| 1958 | 47 | #1,574 | 17,962 | #26 |
| 1957 | 39 | #1,746 | 19,726 | #24 |
| 1956 | 35 | #1,831 | 21,204 | #23 |
| 1955 | 34 | #1,832 | 22,155 | #21 |
| 1954 | 25 | #2,180 | 21,878 | #20 |
| 1953 | 37 | #1,642 | 21,807 | #21 |
| 1952 | 27 | #1,970 | 23,055 | #21 |
| 1951 | 48 | #1,358 | 22,474 | #19 |
| 1950 | 31 | #1,711 | 20,511 | #19 |
| 1949 | 36 | #1,560 | 20,488 | #19 |
| 1948 | 31 | #1,703 | 17,061 | #20 |
| 1947 | 20 | #2,274 | 15,328 | #21 |
| 1946 | 35 | #1,505 | 11,832 | #24 |
| 1945 | 24 | #1,740 | 8,641 | #26 |
| 1944 | 19 | #2,020 | 7,793 | #28 |
| 1943 | 19 | #2,069 | 7,932 | #29 |
| 1942 | 23 | #1,798 | 7,503 | #32 |
| 1941 | 18 | #2,013 | 5,811 | #41 |
| 1940 | 13 | #2,399 | 4,423 | #49 |
| 1939 | 8 | #3,395 | 3,176 | #65 |
| 1938 | 8 | #3,425 | 2,726 | #74 |
| 1937 | 8 | #3,404 | 2,133 | #92 |
| 1936 | 7 | #3,669 | 1,862 | #99 |
| 1935 | 6 | #4,150 | 1,650 | #113 |
| 1934 | — | — | 1,424 | #121 |
| 1933 | 10 | #2,845 | 1,321 | #126 |
| 1932 | 11 | #2,812 | 1,389 | #124 |
| 1931 | 6 | #4,286 | 1,334 | #130 |
| 1930 | 16 | #2,195 | 1,257 | #138 |
| 1929 | 9 | #3,360 | 1,357 | #126 |
| 1928 | 10 | #3,138 | 1,335 | #130 |
| 1927 | 8 | #3,831 | 1,446 | #125 |
| 1926 | 7 | #4,256 | 1,335 | #130 |
| 1925 | 9 | #3,624 | 1,482 | #122 |
| 1924 | 7 | #4,386 | 1,635 | #110 |
| 1923 | 5 | #5,622 | 1,605 | #109 |
| 1922 | 11 | #3,131 | 1,722 | #101 |
| 1921 | 8 | #3,977 | 1,868 | #97 |
| 1920 | — | — | 1,771 | #96 |
| 1919 | 9 | #3,423 | 1,693 | #97 |
| 1918 | 10 | #3,210 | 1,843 | #96 |
| 1917 | 5 | #5,233 | 1,892 | #89 |
| 1916 | — | — | 1,877 | #87 |
| 1915 | 9 | #3,106 | 1,850 | #86 |
| 1914 | 6 | #3,556 | 1,486 | #80 |
| 1913 | 6 | #3,138 | 1,097 | #86 |
| 1912 | 6 | #2,929 | 928 | #88 |
| 1911 | — | — | 486 | #84 |
| 1910 | — | — | 350 | #96 |
| 1909 | — | — | 314 | #91 |
| 1908 | — | — | 280 | #94 |
| 1907 | — | — | 273 | #95 |
| 1906 | — | — | 207 | #102 |
| 1905 | — | — | 246 | #93 |
| 1904 | — | — | 178 | #117 |
| 1903 | — | — | 200 | #96 |
| 1902 | — | — | 210 | #94 |
| 1901 | — | — | 158 | #109 |
| 1900 | — | — | 181 | #127 |
| 1899 | — | — | 178 | #98 |
| 1898 | — | — | 195 | #99 |
| 1897 | — | — | 194 | #94 |
| 1896 | — | — | 164 | #113 |
| 1895 | — | — | 179 | #104 |
| 1894 | — | — | 174 | #103 |
| 1893 | — | — | 175 | #101 |
| 1892 | — | — | 178 | #104 |
| 1891 | — | — | 140 | #106 |
| 1890 | — | — | 156 | #109 |
| 1889 | — | — | 164 | #101 |
| 1888 | — | — | 187 | #98 |
| 1887 | — | — | 165 | #92 |
| 1886 | — | — | 181 | #90 |
| 1885 | — | — | 158 | #93 |
| 1884 | — | — | 165 | #93 |
| 1883 | — | — | 140 | #98 |
| 1882 | — | — | 201 | #81 |
| 1881 | — | — | 147 | #89 |
| 1880 | — | — | 176 | #84 |
About the data: counts are Social Security card applications for US births, for names given to at least five babies of a sex in a year (SSA, names.zip, public domain). Ranks follow SSA’s own order: most births first, ties alphabetical. Files retrieved 2026-10-05 (checksum on our sources page).