Steven

Where the name comes from

• Greek (via Latin)
  crown, wreath; reward, honor
  Greek στέφανος (stephanos) → Latin Stephanus → English Stephen / Steven
  Steven is the English spelling of Stephen (Online Etymology Dictionary: “Englished form of Stephen”). The Greek noun stephanos means “crown, wreath; reward, honor” (Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources). It was a personal name in classical Greece before Christianity: the Lexicon of Greek Personal Names counts 566 bearers in its published volumes, 117 of them from Athens.

Steven across traditions

• Christian. Saint Stephen was one of the seven deacons of the early church in Jerusalem and is remembered as the first Christian martyr; he was stoned to death (Acts 6–7).
• Classical Greek. A pre-Christian Greek personal name, well attested in Athens.
• English. In Anglo-Saxon England it was used only by monks; it became popular after the Norman Conquest. The spelling Steven is attested in Middle and Early Modern English records.
• Hungarian. Stephen I, anointed on Christmas Day 1000, was the first king of Hungary; he was canonized in 1083 and his feast day is August 16.
• European. Medieval records show the name in many languages: Esteban (Spanish), Étienne and Estienne (French), Stefano (Italian), Stephan and Steffen (German), Steven (Dutch), Staffan (Swedish), and Stepan in a Ukrainian Latin record.
• United States (SSA). 1,876,734 combined births in the SSA decade tables, 1950s–2010s (Steven 1,191,721 + Stephen 685,013). Peak decade: the 1950s (540,942 births), when Steven ranked #11 and Stephen #20 among boys. Top 100 in every decade from the 1950s through the 2000s. Steven was #145 in the 2010s, and Stephen was out of the top 200.

Who carried it

• Saint Stephen (Died about 1,990 years ago, in Jerusalem): One of the seven deacons; the first Christian martyr
• Stephen I of Hungary (Born c. 970–975; died August 15, 1038): Anointed first king of Hungary on Christmas Day 1000; canonized 1083

Forms in other languages

Stephen, Steve, Esteban, Étienne, Stefano, Stephan, Steffen, Staffan, Stepan, Stephanos, Stephanus

Steven in letter-number systems

Hebrew, Greek and other traditions gave every letter a number, and read meaning into the totals. These are the counts, computed; the readings are inside the Innerverse.