Boys' name · peaked in 1959
Steve name popularity since 1925
223,440 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Steve. Half of them were born in 1959 or earlier, so the typical Steve is about 67 years old in 2026. Steve peaked in 1959 as the #41 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 223,440
- Named Steve, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,617 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.6% boys
- 849 girls · 222,591 boys
- Most popular in
- New Mexico
- 1.70× its national share
Peak year is the year Steve 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.
Steve births per year, 1925–2025
1959 was the biggest year for Steve both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1937 and 1942, Steve became 2.2× more common, from 1 in 1,260 baby boys to 1 in 581.
- Steepest fall: Between 1964 and 1969, its share of baby boys fell by 52%, from 1 in 281 to 1 in 584.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Steve's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Steve.
Decade by decade
Babies named Steve 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 | 51 | 5,036 | – |
| 1930s | 34 | 8,572 | #176 |
| 1940s | 94 | 36,286 | #79 |
| 1950s | 205 | 64,212 | #72 |
| 1960s | 200 | 65,619 | #55 |
| 1970s | 129 | 16,652 | #171 |
| 1980s | 103 | 10,392 | #234 |
| 1990s | 33 | 7,654 | #334 |
| 2000s | 0 | 5,097 | #519 |
| 2010s | 0 | 2,348 | #940 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 723 | #1,617 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
58.7% of babies named Steve from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Steve is most popular
The index compares Steve'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 Steve.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| New Mexico | 1.70× | 2,090 |
| Wyoming | 1.60× | 482 |
| Montana | 1.54× | 1,001 |
| California | 1.42× | 33,326 |
| Washington | 1.40× | 5,197 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Steve's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Steve.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Steve (1959).
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