Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Stephen?
Births per year, rank history and how many Stephens are alive today.
Stephen (male), once a common boys' name, is now an uncommon choice for new babies in England and Wales, ranked 716th in 2025 with 49 given the name. This spelling of the name peaked in 1954, when around 16,800 babies were given the name, the 3rd most popular that year. It has declined since 1954; the 2025 figure is roughly 1% of its peak. Numbers have been falling in recent years. At least 510,000 babies have been named Stephen in England and Wales since 1904. Figures before 1996 are estimates. Stephen is one spelling of a name also recorded as Steven; the combined figures below cover every spelling. Common short forms of Stephen include Stevie.
Across all spellings of the name, the Stephen you are most likely to meet is around 69 years old. Half of all Stephens born in England and Wales are between 50 and 69, and there are at least 440,000 of them alive today. If you walk into a room of 100 males, there's roughly a 77% chance that at least one of them will be called Stephen.
How many babies are named Stephen each year?
Includes all spellings: Stephen, Steven. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
Where does the Stephen spelling rank?
Where does the Steven spelling rank?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
When was the name Stephen most popular?
Stephen peaked in 1954, when around 16,800 babies in England and Wales were given the name across all spellings.
How many people are called Stephen?
At least 440,000 people named Stephen in any spelling born in England and Wales are alive today.
How old is the typical Stephen?
Most living Stephens are between 50 and 69; the most common age is about 69.
Is Stephen becoming more or less popular?
Declining: recent figures are a fraction of the 1954 peak.