Stephon
A male name of Greek origin meaning "garland" or "crown".
Name Census estimates that about 8,472 living Americans carry the first name Stephon. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Stephon today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Stephon births was 1997 (406 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Stephon. 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
8.5K
~ 1 in 40,457 Americans
Peak year
1997
406 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,541
Tracked since 1955
Census
Stephon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 6,591 people with the first name Stephon, which placed it at #3,249 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
#3,249
National first-name rank
People counted
6.6K
6,591 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
81.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stephon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Stephon is Black at 81.0%. The next largest groups are White (6.1%) and Two or More Races (6.0%). 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 Stephon 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 Stephon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American81.0% · 5,336
- White6.1% · 399
- Two or more races6.0% · 397
- Hispanic or Latino5.5% · 360
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 54
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 45
Gender
Gender distribution for Stephon
Out of the 8,776 babies given the name Stephon since 1880, 99.8% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Stephon as a male name
- Ranked #2,541 in 2024
- 53 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1997 (406 births)
Stephon as a female name
- Ranked #15,446 in 1995
- 5 female births in 1995
- Peak: 1988 (9 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Stephon appears almost entirely male. Of the 6,586 people counted with this name, 99.1% were male and only a very small share were female.
Popularity
Stephon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Stephon 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 3,270 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
Stephon 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 Stephon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Stephons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 32 states and territories. New York, Illinois, Florida recorded the most babies named Stephon, while Nevada, Kansas, Connecticut recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 195 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Stephon
Stephon is a masculine given name with origins rooted in ancient Greek. It derives from the Greek name Stephanos, which means "crown" or "wreath." The name was likely coined during the Hellenic period, which spanned from the 8th century BCE to the 6th century CE, when Greek culture and civilization flourished across the Mediterranean region.
The name Stephanos holds significance in Greek mythology, particularly in the context of athletic competitions. Victors in ancient Greek games were often adorned with crowns or wreaths made of laurel, olive, or other plants, symbolizing their triumph and honor. The name may have been bestowed upon individuals to signify their strength, resilience, or achievements.
One of the earliest known references to the name Stephanos can be found in the works of ancient Greek poets and playwrights, such as Sophocles and Euripides, who lived in the 5th century BCE. These literary works often featured characters bearing the name, reflecting its prevalence during that era.
The name gained further prominence with the rise of Christianity, as it was adopted by several early Christian martyrs and saints. One notable figure was Saint Stephen, who is venerated as the first Christian martyr and is celebrated on December 26th in many Christian denominations. His martyrdom is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, a canonical text in the New Testament.
Throughout history, several individuals bearing the name Stephon or its variations have left their mark. One example is Stephon Marbury (born 1977), an American former professional basketball player who played in the NBA for over a decade and also had a successful career in the Chinese Basketball Association.
Another notable figure is Stephon Gilmore (born 1990), an American football cornerback who currently plays for the Indianapolis Colts in the NFL. He was a key player on the New England Patriots' Super Bowl LIII championship team and was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2019.
In the realm of literature, Stephon Stuchbery (1975-2017) was an Australian author and screenwriter known for his works exploring queer themes and indigenous Australian experiences.
Stephon Alexander (born 1976) is a renowned American theoretical physicist and cosmologist. He has made significant contributions to the field of quantum gravity and has authored several books aimed at making complex scientific concepts accessible to a wider audience.
Stephon X. Thompson (born 1990) is an American actor and filmmaker known for his roles in various independent films and web series. He has received critical acclaim for his work, which often explores themes of identity and social justice.
These individuals, spanning different eras and fields, exemplify the enduring nature and diverse cultural influences of the name Stephon throughout history.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Stephon
People
Stephon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Stephon 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
Stephon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Stephon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 8,472 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Stephon 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 40,457 US residents.
Is Stephon a common name?
We classify Stephon as "Rare". It ranks above 97.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 8,776 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Stephon most popular?
The single biggest year for Stephon was 1997, when 406 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Stephon is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Stephon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 6,591 people with the name Stephon, or 2.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,249 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 Stephon 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 Stephon?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Stephon appears almost entirely male. Of the 6,586 people counted with this name, 99.1% 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 Stephon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Stephon is Black at 81.0%. The next largest groups are White (6.1%) and Two or More Races (6.0%). 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 Stephon most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Stephon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.0% (5,336 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 Stephon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Stephon a male name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Stephon 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 Stephon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Stephon 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 Stephon 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 Stephon as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Stephon, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.