Boys' name · peaked in 1951
Stephen name popularity since 1925
839,820 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Stephen. Half of them were born in 1965 or earlier, so the typical Stephen is about 61 years old in 2026. Stephen peaked in 1951 as the #19 name for boys, and it ranked #383 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 839,820
- Named Stephen, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #383
- for boys in 2025 (829 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.7% boys
- 2,848 girls · 836,972 boys
- Most popular in
- Rhode Island
- 2.38× its national share
Peak year is the year Stephen made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Stephen births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1952. Measured as a share of all babies, Stephen peaked in 1951.
- Fastest rise: Between 1937 and 1942, Stephen became 2.7× more common, from 1 in 500 baby boys to 1 in 184.
- Steepest fall: Between 1990 and 1995, its share of baby boys fell by 41%, from 1 in 172 to 1 in 290.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Stephen's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Stephen.
Decade by decade
Babies named Stephen in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 43 | 6,955 | – |
| 1930s | 80 | 18,272 | #113 |
| 1940s | 238 | 106,812 | #26 |
| 1950s | 351 | 207,276 | #21 |
| 1960s | 477 | 152,240 | #28 |
| 1970s | 652 | 107,804 | #34 |
| 1980s | 738 | 113,631 | #36 |
| 1990s | 220 | 75,160 | #57 |
| 2000s | 49 | 28,902 | #143 |
| 2010s | 0 | 14,422 | #246 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 5,498 | #383 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
41.7% of babies named Stephen from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Stephen is most popular
The index compares Stephen's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Stephen.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Rhode Island | 2.38× | 7,122 |
| Massachusetts | 2.30× | 46,346 |
| Maine | 1.98× | 7,171 |
| District of Columbia | 1.82× | 7,080 |
| Vermont | 1.78× | 2,514 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Stephen and were given to at least 1,000 boys from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Boys | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Stephen (this page) | 836,972 | 1951 |
| Stephan | 27,241 | 1987 |
| Stephon | 8,808 | 1997 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Stephen's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Stephen.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Stephen (1951).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data