Steffan
A masculine name of Greek origin meaning "crown" or "garland".
Name Census estimates that about 1,331 living Americans carry the first name Steffan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Steffan today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Steffan births was 1994 (73 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Steffan. 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 Steffan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.3K
~ 1 in 257,516 Americans
Peak year
1994
73 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2023 SSA rank
#10,652
Tracked since 1950
Census
Steffan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,307 people with the first name Steffan, which placed it at #10,274 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
#10,274
National first-name rank
People counted
1.3K
1,307 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
64.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Steffan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Steffan is White at 64.0%. The next largest groups are Black (16.6%) and Hispanic (9.3%). 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 Steffan 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 Steffan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.0% · 836
- Black or African American16.6% · 217
- Hispanic or Latino9.3% · 122
- Two or more races6.7% · 87
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.4% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 14
Popularity
Steffan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Steffan from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 456 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Steffan 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 Steffan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Steffans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 12 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Steffan, while Washington, Missouri, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 15 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Steffan
The name Steffan has its origins in the ancient Greek name Stephanos, meaning "crown" or "wreath." It eventually made its way into Latin as Stephanus and then evolved into various forms across different languages and cultures.
In the early centuries of Christianity, the name gained popularity due to its association with Saint Stephen, one of the first deacons and martyrs of the Christian Church, who lived in the 1st century AD. His name is derived from the Greek word "stephanos," which symbolizes the crown of martyrdom he received.
The name Steffan emerged as a variant spelling in Welsh and Scandinavian languages. In Welsh, it is pronounced with a slight emphasis on the second syllable, and it has been a popular name in Wales for centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Steffan can be found in the medieval Welsh chronicle "Brut y Tywysogion" (Chronicle of the Princes), which mentions a Welsh prince named Steffan ap Cynan who lived in the 11th century.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Steffan. One of the most prominent was Steffan Arngrimsson (1281-1350), a Swedish statesman and military leader who played a crucial role in the consolidation of Swedish control over parts of Finland.
Another historical figure was Steffan Rosén (1627-1683), a Swedish nobleman and military officer who served as the Governor-General of Swedish Pomerania in the 17th century.
In the realm of literature, Steffan Bodor (1639-1719) was a Hungarian Protestant minister and writer who made significant contributions to Hungarian literature and education.
Moving to more modern times, Steffan Rhys Hughes (1919-1957) was a Welsh poet and writer who gained recognition for his works in both Welsh and English languages.
Lastly, Steffan Rhodri (born 1977) is a contemporary Welsh actor known for his roles in various television series and films, including "Gavin & Stacey" and "Keeping Faith."
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have carried the name Steffan, reflecting its enduring presence across different cultures and time periods.
People
Steffan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Steffan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Steffan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Steffan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,331 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Steffan 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 257,516 US residents.
Is Steffan a common name?
We classify Steffan as "Rare". It ranks above 91.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,397 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Steffan most popular?
The single biggest year for Steffan was 1994, when 73 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Steffan is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Steffan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,307 people with the name Steffan, or 0.43 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,274 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 Steffan 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 Steffan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Steffan leans strongly male. 1,287 people counted with this name were male (98.3%), compared with 22 female bearers (1.7%). 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 Steffan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Steffan is White at 64.0%. The next largest groups are Black (16.6%) and Hispanic (9.3%). 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 Steffan most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Steffan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.0% (836 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 Steffan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Steffan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Steffan 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 Steffan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Steffan 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 Steffan 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 have the name Steffan?
See how many people share the name Steffan on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.