Stephani
A feminine name derived from the Greek word "Stephanos" meaning "crown".
Name Census estimates that about 4,884 living Americans carry the first name Stephani. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Stephani today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Stephani births was 1989 (637 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Stephani. 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 Stephani with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
4.9K
~ 1 in 70,179 Americans
Peak year
1989
637 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,998
Tracked since 1940
Census
Stephani in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 5,154 people with the first name Stephani, which placed it at #3,830 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
#3,830
National first-name rank
People counted
5.2K
5,154 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
62.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stephani
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Stephani is White at 62.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (24.9%) and Black (6.3%). 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 Stephani 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 Stephani at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.8% · 3,238
- Hispanic or Latino24.9% · 1,284
- Black or African American6.3% · 326
- Two or more races3.6% · 187
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 86
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 33
Popularity
Stephani: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Stephani from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 1,819 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Stephani 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 Stephani during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Stephanis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 28 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Stephani, while Utah, Tennessee, Maryland recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 95 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Stephani
The name Stephani originated from the Greek name Stephanos, which means "crown" or "wreath." It is a feminine form of the masculine name Stephen or Stephanos. The name traces its roots back to ancient Greece, where it was commonly used.
In the New Testament of the Bible, the name Stephen appears as one of the first Christian martyrs. According to the Acts of the Apostles, Stephen was one of the seven deacons appointed to distribute food and aid to the poor in the early Christian church in Jerusalem. He was stoned to death for his beliefs, becoming the first martyr of Christianity.
The name Stephani gained popularity throughout Europe during the Middle Ages, particularly in regions with strong Greek and Byzantine influences. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Stephani dates back to the 12th century, when it was used by a noble woman named Stephani de Beaumont in France.
In the Renaissance period, the name Stephani was associated with several notable figures. Stephani de Bourbon (1155-1237) was a French noblewoman and the daughter of Louis VII, King of France. Stephani de Ganges (1496-1563) was an Italian artist and engraver known for her contributions to the Mannerist style.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the name Stephani continued to be used across Europe. Stephani de Lannoy (1613-1688) was a Flemish noblewoman and the founder of the Order of the Immaculate Conception. Stephani de Beauharnais (1789-1860) was a French noblewoman and the adopted daughter of Napoleon Bonaparte.
In the 19th century, Stephani von Schubert (1810-1856) was an Austrian composer and pianist known for her contributions to the Romantic era of classical music. Stephani Gandolfi (1830-1889) was an Italian writer and poet known for her works exploring themes of love and nature.
Throughout history, the name Stephani has been borne by numerous influential women from various backgrounds, reflecting its enduring presence across cultures and time periods. While its origins can be traced back to ancient Greece, the name Stephani has remained a popular choice for centuries, continuing to resonate with its associations of strength, nobility, and artistic expression.
People
Stephani + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Stephani 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
Stephani: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Stephani?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,884 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Stephani 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 70,179 US residents.
Is Stephani a common name?
We classify Stephani as "Rare". It ranks above 96.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,305 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Stephani most popular?
The single biggest year for Stephani was 1989, when 637 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Stephani is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Stephani in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 5,154 people with the name Stephani, or 1.71 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,830 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 Stephani 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 Stephani?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Stephani appears almost entirely female. Of the 5,154 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Stephani?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Stephani is White at 62.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (24.9%) and Black (6.3%). 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 Stephani most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Stephani in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.8% (3,238 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 Stephani in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Stephani a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Stephani in the SSA data are female. 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 Stephani still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Stephani 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 Stephani 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 Stephani?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.