Istvan
Hungarian variant of the Latin name Stephanus, meaning "garland" or "crown".
Name Census estimates that about 76 living Americans carry the first name Istvan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Istvan today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Istvan births was 2000 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Istvan. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Istvan with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Istvan. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
76
~ 1 in 4,509,926 Americans
Peak year
2000
8 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2009 SSA rank
#10,267
Tracked since 1962
Census
Istvan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,084 people with the first name Istvan, which placed it at #11,706 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#11,706
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,084 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
92.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Istvan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Istvan is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.5%) and Two or More Races (0.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Istvan described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Istvan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.4% · 1,002
- Hispanic or Latino5.5% · 60
- Two or more races0.9% · 10
- Black or African American0.5% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Popularity
Istvan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Istvan from the 1960s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 29 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Istvan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Istvan by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Istvan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Istvan
The given name Istvan is of Hungarian origin, derived from the Greek name Stephanos, meaning "crown" or "wreath." It rose to prominence during the medieval period in Hungary and surrounding regions.
The name Istvan is closely associated with Saint Stephen I, the first King of Hungary, who reigned from 1000 to 1038 AD. He was instrumental in the conversion of Hungarians to Christianity and played a crucial role in establishing the Kingdom of Hungary. His birth name was Vajk, but he took the Christian name Istvan upon his baptism.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Istvan can be found in the Illuminated Chronicle, a 14th-century Hungarian illuminated manuscript. It chronicles the life and deeds of King Stephen I, who is referred to as Istvan throughout the text.
Over the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the name Istvan. One of the most prominent figures was Istvan Bocskai (1557-1606), a Hungarian noble and Prince of Transylvania, who led an uprising against the Habsburg rule in the early 17th century.
Another significant bearer of the name was Istvan Szechenyi (1791-1860), a Hungarian politician, writer, and reformer, often referred to as the "Greatest Hungarian." He played a pivotal role in the modernization of Hungary and advocated for social and economic reforms.
In the field of literature, Istvan Örkény (1912-1979) was a renowned Hungarian writer and playwright, known for his satirical works that criticized the communist regime in Hungary.
The name Istvan also holds historical significance in the realm of music. Istvan Kertesz (1929-1973) was a renowned Hungarian-born conductor who gained international acclaim for his interpretations of the works of composers such as Beethoven and Brahms.
Another notable figure was Istvan Csok (1865-1961), a Hungarian painter celebrated for his portraits and genre scenes, whose works are displayed in prestigious museums around the world.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Istvan
People
Istvan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Istvan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with I
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Istvan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Istvan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 76 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Istvan going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 4,509,926 US residents.
Is Istvan a common name?
We classify Istvan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 81 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Istvan most popular?
The single biggest year for Istvan was 2000, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Istvan is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Istvan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,084 people with the name Istvan, or 0.36 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,706 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Istvan in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Istvan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Istvan appears almost entirely male. Of the 1,082 people counted with this name, 99.6% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Istvan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Istvan is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.5%) and Two or More Races (0.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Istvan most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Istvan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (1,002 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Istvan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Istvan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Istvan in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Istvan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Istvan in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Istvan can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Istvan?
Want to know how many Americans are named Istvan? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.