How Many People Are Named Stephen?
An estimated 680,609 people in the United States have the first name Stephen. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #53 overall. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 55 years old, and Stephen peaked in popularity in 1952 with 23,081 births that year. It has a similar number of bearers to Scott (680,373).
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Stephen as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Stephen paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Stephen is overwhelmingly male, 2,930 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- Stephen has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
680,609
About 1 in 504 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Very Common
Predicted Gender
Male
99.7% confidence
Average Age
55
years old
Peak Year
1952
23,081 births
Total Registered
866,834
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Stephen
Stephen is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 866,834 total births registered, 99.7% were male.
Stephen as a male name
Ranked #377 in 2024
864 male births in 2024
Peak: 1952 (23,054 births)
Stephen as a female name
Ranked #17,357 in 2007
6 female births in 2007
Peak: 1985 (97 births)
Stephen: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Stephen span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1950s, when 207,627 babies were registered. Stephen has declined significantly from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Stephen by Decade
How has Stephen tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 1,684 | 1,684 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 1,733 | 1,733 | 0 | |
| 1900s | 2,247 | 2,247 | 0 | |
| 1910s | 13,554 | 13,503 | 51 | |
| 1920s | 15,631 | 15,557 | 74 | |
| 1930s | 18,352 | 18,272 | 80 | |
| 1940s | 107,048 | 106,810 | 238 | |
| 1950s | 207,627 | 207,276 | 351 | |
| 1960s | 152,708 | 152,231 | 477 | |
| 1970s | 108,464 | 107,812 | 652 | |
| 1980s | 114,373 | 113,635 | 738 | |
| 1990s | 75,384 | 75,164 | 220 | |
| 2000s | 28,950 | 28,901 | 49 | |
| 2010s | 14,418 | 14,418 | 0 | |
| 2020s | 4,661 | 4,661 | 0 | |
Stephen by State
Birth registrations for Stephen span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, California, Pennsylvania. The lowest are in Wyoming, North Dakota, Alaska. On average, about 16,816 Stephens were registered per state.
Stephen + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Stephen as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Stephen
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
Stephen: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Stephen?
We estimate approximately 680,609 people named Stephen are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 504 Americans share this first name.
Is Stephen a common name?
Stephen is classified as "Very Common" and is more popular than 100% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 866,834 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Stephen most popular?
Stephen reached peak popularity in 1952, when 23,081 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Stephen is approximately 55 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Stephen a male name?
Stephen is predominantly male. 99.7% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Stephen Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Stephen Smith, Stephen Johnson, Stephen Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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