Stelios
A masculine name of Greek origin meaning "crown" or "winner".
Name Census estimates that about 204 living Americans carry the first name Stelios. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Stelios today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Stelios births was 2007 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Stelios. 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 Stelios with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
204
~ 1 in 1,680,168 Americans
Peak year
2007
11 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,733
Tracked since 1972
Census
Stelios in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 406 people with the first name Stelios, which placed it at #23,937 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
#23,937
National first-name rank
People counted
406
406 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
94.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stelios
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Stelios is White at 94.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (1.0%). 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 Stelios 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 Stelios at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.6% · 384
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 18
- Two or more races1.0% · 4
Popularity
Stelios: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Stelios from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 54 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Stelios remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Stelios 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 Stelios 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 Stelios
The name Stelios has its roots in the Greek language and culture, originating from the word "stelios," which means "pillar" or "column" in Greek. This name gained popularity during the classical period of ancient Greece, spanning from the 8th century BC to the 6th century AD.
The name Stelios is derived from the Greek word "stele," which refers to an upright slab or pillar used for various purposes, such as marking boundaries, serving as grave markers, or displaying inscriptions. The addition of the suffix "-ios" transformed the word into a personal name, emphasizing qualities like strength, stability, and endurance, which were highly valued in ancient Greek society.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Stelios can be found in ancient Greek literature, particularly in the works of the renowned playwright Sophocles. In his tragedy "Oedipus at Colonus," a character named Stelios is mentioned as a messenger who brings news to the protagonist, Oedipus.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Stelios. One of the most famous was Stelios of Panormus (c. 280 BC - c. 240 BC), a Stoic philosopher from the ancient Greek city of Panormus (modern-day Palermo, Sicily). He was a student of Zeno of Citium, the founder of Stoicism, and played a significant role in the development and dissemination of this philosophical school.
Another prominent figure was Stelios Kazantzidis (1904 - 2001), a Greek singer and musician who was widely regarded as one of the most influential rebetiko performers of the 20th century. His powerful vocals and captivating stage presence earned him the moniker "The Emperor of Rebetiko."
In the realm of sports, Stelios Hatziyiannakis (1937 - 2022) was a Greek footballer who represented the Greek national team and played for several prominent clubs, including AEK Athens and Panathinaikos. He is considered one of the greatest Greek footballers of all time and was inducted into the Greek Football Hall of Fame.
Stelios Bikas (1920 - 2005) was a renowned Greek artist and sculptor whose works are celebrated for their unique style and exploration of themes related to Greek mythology and culture. His sculptures can be found in various public spaces and museums around Greece and abroad.
Lastly, Stelios Papadimitriou (1913 - 1991) was a Greek architect and urban planner who made significant contributions to the development of modern architecture in Greece. He designed several iconic buildings, including the Athens Hilton Hotel and the National Library of Greece.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals who have carried the name Stelios throughout history, reflecting its enduring presence and cultural significance within the Greek tradition.
People
Stelios + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Stelios 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
Stelios: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Stelios?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 204 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Stelios 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 1,680,168 US residents.
Is Stelios a common name?
We classify Stelios as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 211 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Stelios most popular?
The single biggest year for Stelios was 2007, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Stelios is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Stelios in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 406 people with the name Stelios, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,937 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 Stelios 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 Stelios?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Stelios leans strongly male. 404 people counted with this name were male (98.5%), compared with 6 female bearers (1.5%). 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 Stelios?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Stelios is White at 94.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (1.0%). 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 Stelios most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Stelios in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.6% (384 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 Stelios in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Stelios a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Stelios 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 Stelios still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Stelios 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 Stelios 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 share the name Stelios?
You can see how many Americans are named Stelios on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.