Stepan
A masculine name of Greek origin meaning "crown".
Name Census estimates that about 250 living Americans carry the first name Stepan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Stepan today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Stepan births was 2019 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Stepan. 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.
People living today
250
~ 1 in 1,371,017 Americans
Peak year
2019
15 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2023 SSA rank
#10,653
Tracked since 1981
Popularity
Stepan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Stepan from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 100 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Stepan 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 Stepan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Stepans live
Origin
Meaning and history of Stepan
The name Stepan has its origins in the Russian and Ukrainian languages, derived from the Greek name Stephanos, which means "crown" or "wreath." It first emerged in the Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition during the Byzantine era, around the 4th or 5th century AD.
Stepan is a diminutive form of the name Stephen, which was borne by many early Christian saints and martyrs, including St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr. The name gained popularity in Eastern Europe, particularly in Russia and Ukraine, where it was widely adopted as a Christian name.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name Stepan was Stepan of Perm (1340-1396), a Russian missionary and saint who converted the Komi people of northern Russia to Orthodox Christianity. He is renowned for his work in translating religious texts into the Komi language and for establishing the Eparchy of Perm.
Another notable figure was Stepan Razin (1630-1671), a Cossack rebel leader who led a major peasant uprising against the Russian nobility and the Tsar's regime in the 17th century. His rebellion, though ultimately crushed, was a significant event in Russian history and has been celebrated in folk songs and literature.
In Ukrainian history, Stepan Bandera (1909-1959) was a controversial figure who led the Ukrainian nationalist movement during World War II, seeking independence from Soviet rule. His actions and legacy remain divisive, with some considering him a freedom fighter and others viewing him as a collaborator with Nazi Germany.
Other prominent individuals with the name Stepan include Stepan Khalturin (1857-1882), a Russian revolutionary and member of the Narodnaya Volya (People's Will) movement, and Stepan Shaumyan (1878-1918), a Bolshevik revolutionary and one of the leaders of the Russian Revolution in the Caucasus region.
While the name Stepan has declined in popularity in recent decades, it remains a part of the cultural heritage of Eastern Europe, particularly in Russia and Ukraine, where it has been borne by numerous historical figures and continues to be used as a given name.
People
Stepan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Stepan 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
Stepan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Stepan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 250 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Stepan 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 1,371,017 US residents.
Is Stepan a common name?
We classify Stepan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 254 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Stepan most popular?
The single biggest year for Stepan was 2019, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Stepan is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Stepan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Stepan 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.
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.