Stephen Name Popularity

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How popular is Stephen?

In 2018 the somewhat popular name Stephen, ranked the 284th Most Popular Boys Name in the United States.

Presently one of the top 500 most popular, Stephen has been a top 500 placer since the Social Security Administration began keeping records in 1880.

Position 19, its highest popularity RANKING, was reached for the first time in 1949 and as recently as 1951.

But, the greatest number of babies were given the name in 1952 with 23,049 occurrences.

The least number of children given the name Stephen was 140 in 1891.

Stephen, decisively moved upwards in popularity around the years 1906-1915, and 1932-1952, whereas 1954-1963, 1968-1973, and 1990-2011 were years of successive downward movement.

The popularity trend for Stephen has been spiralling downward for a while. , continuing the trend, the number of children named Stephen lately has dropped.

What does the future hold for the popularity of Stephen?

Stephen's popularity is at a very low point when measured against its most notable year.

The name Stephen is favored by many parents but will probably continue to drift downward in popularity.

Relative to what it once was, Stephen is much less frequently used as a given name.

*Mouse over the charts or scroll down to the table for data details.

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for Percentages.

		Stephen (Girl)		Stephen (Boy)
Year	%	No. of Babies Given Name	Popul. Rank	No. of Babies Given Name	Popul. Rank
2018		< 5	--	1,236	284
2017		< 5	--	1,330	271
2016		< 5	--	1,374	266
2015		< 5	--	1,494	246
2014		< 5	--	1,445	257
2013		< 5	--	1,451	252
2012		< 5	--	1,564	227
2011		< 5	--	1,577	228
2010		< 5	--	1,819	202
2009		< 5	--	1,917	200
2008		< 5	--	2,090	192
2007		6	17,351	2,370	172
2006		< 5	--	2,549	164
2005		9	11,721	2,742	143
2004		10	10,581	2,848	140
2003		6	15,528	3,141	127
2002		10	10,138	3,349	114
2001		< 5	--	3,737	102
2000		8	11,659	4,135	95
1999		14	7,179	4,541	86
1998		7	12,262	5,013	78
1997		14	6,799	5,412	68
1996		18	5,502	6,007	59
1995		19	5,191	6,557	57
1994		17	5,677	7,478	49
1993		14	6,579	8,367	47
1992		42	2,865	9,306	45
1991		39	2,983	10,525	41
1990		36	3,145	11,941	39
1989		60	2,093	11,736	40
1988		67	1,861	11,603	40
1987		75	1,644	11,548	38
1986		84	1,492	11,876	36
1985		97	1,360	12,210	36
1984		75	1,532	12,093	35
1983		79	1,472	11,562	35
1982		71	1,638	10,631	38
1981		63	1,785	10,296	39
1980		67	1,702	10,065	40
1979		63	1,750	9,904	40
1978		83	1,407	9,862	37
1977		61	1,713	9,642	38
1976		65	1,563	9,730	37
1975		70	1,477	9,736	34
1974		51	1,769	10,115	35
1973		70	1,414	9,960	32
1972		50	1,766	11,043	29
1971		73	1,438	13,108	27
1970		66	1,516	14,774	27
1969		61	1,529	15,098	27
1968		63	1,431	14,764	27
1967		71	1,298	15,091	26
1966		54	1,528	14,746	26
1965		34	2,026	14,648	28
1964		39	1,914	14,969	29
1963		40	1,862	14,988	29
1962		30	2,205	15,622	28
1961		35	1,994	16,056	27
1960		51	1,577	16,258	27
1959		27	2,227	16,495	28
1958		47	1,573	17,947	26
1957		39	1,748	19,708	24
1956		36	1,798	21,194	23
1955		34	1,833	22,132	21
1954		25	2,179	21,874	20
1953		37	1,642	21,819	21
1952		27	1,970	23,049	21
1951		48	1,358	22,474	19
1950		31	1,714	20,510	19
1949		36	1,560	20,481	19
1948		31	1,703	17,059	20
1947		20	2,274	15,326	21
1946		35	1,505	11,836	24
1945		24	1,741	8,639	26
1944		19	2,020	7,792	28
1943		19	2,069	7,930	29
1942		23	1,797	7,501	32
1941		18	2,014	5,807	41
1940		13	2,399	4,422	49
1939		8	3,394	3,176	65
1938		8	3,425	2,726	74
1937		8	3,404	2,134	92
1936		7	3,668	1,862	99
1935		6	4,149	1,650	113
1934		< 5	--	1,424	121
1933		10	2,844	1,321	126
1932		11	2,812	1,389	124
1931		6	4,287	1,333	130
1930		16	2,195	1,257	138
1929		9	3,362	1,357	126
1928		10	3,139	1,336	130
1927		8	3,831	1,444	125
1926		7	4,255	1,337	130
1925		9	3,624	1,481	122
1924		7	4,386	1,637	110
1923		5	5,622	1,605	109
1922		11	3,130	1,721	101
1921		8	3,978	1,869	97
1920		< 5	--	1,772	96
1919		9	3,423	1,693	97
1918		10	3,210	1,843	96
1917		5	5,234	1,892	89
1916		< 5	--	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		< 5	--	486	84
1910		< 5	--	350	96
1909		< 5	--	314	91
1908		< 5	--	280	94
1907		< 5	--	273	95
1906		< 5	--	207	102
1905		< 5	--	246	93
1904		< 5	--	178	117
1903		< 5	--	200	96
1902		< 5	--	210	94
1901		< 5	--	158	109
1900		< 5	--	181	127
1899		< 5	--	178	98
1898		< 5	--	195	99
1897		< 5	--	194	94
1896		< 5	--	164	113
1895		< 5	--	179	104
1894		< 5	--	174	103
1893		< 5	--	175	101
1892		< 5	--	178	104
1891		< 5	--	140	106
1890		< 5	--	156	109
1889		< 5	--	164	101
1888		< 5	--	187	98
1887		< 5	--	165	92
1886		< 5	--	181	90
1885		< 5	--	158	93
1884		< 5	--	165	93
1883		< 5	--	140	98
1882		< 5	--	201	81
1881		< 5	--	147	89
1880		< 5	--	176	84

United States name popularity data is provided by the Social Security Administration and is based on Social Security card applications.

Data for a given year is not made available until well into the next year.

Data reflects what was recorded and has not been edited for errors, so for example the gender associated with a name may be incorrect.

The more babies that are given a particular name, the higher the popularity ranking. If multiple names have the same usage, the tie is broken by assigning popularity rank in alphabetical order. Therefore in the case of names with fewer occurrences, names with the same number of occurrences may have vastly different rankings because they will be interranked alphabetically.

To safeguard privacy, the SSA does not include names with less than 5 occurrences.

Please note, we update the data each May when the SSA releases new figures. All data changes at that time, including previous years, which will change minutely based on new information.