Stevens
A masculine name derived from the Greek word "stephanos" meaning "crown".
Name Census estimates that about 978 living Americans carry the first name Stevens. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Stevens today is around 48 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Stevens births was 1989 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Stevens. 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
978
~ 1 in 350,465 Americans
Peak year
1989
31 babies that year
Average age
48
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,929
Tracked since 1913
Census
Stevens in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 986 people with the first name Stevens, which placed it at #12,575 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
#12,575
National first-name rank
People counted
986
986 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
42.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stevens
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Stevens is White at 42.7%. The next largest groups are Black (29.7%) and Hispanic (21.1%). 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 Stevens 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 Stevens at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White42.7% · 421
- Black or African American29.7% · 293
- Hispanic or Latino21.1% · 208
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.2% · 41
- Two or more races1.9% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 4
Popularity
Stevens: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Stevens from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 206 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
Stevens 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 Stevens during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Stevens' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. New York, Florida, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Stevens, while California, New Jersey, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 49 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Stevens
The name Stevens is a variant of the name Steven, which is derived from the Greek name Stephanos, meaning "crown" or "wreath." The name has its roots in Greek culture and was popular during the Hellenistic period.
The name was later adopted by early Christians and became associated with the first Christian martyr, St. Stephen, who was stoned to death in the first century AD. His life and martyrdom are recorded in the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Stevens dates back to the 12th century. It was used as a given name in various European countries, particularly in England, where it was often spelled as "Stevene" or "Stevyn."
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Stevens. One of the most famous was Steven of Bourbon, a 13th-century French nobleman and crusader who participated in the Seventh Crusade and wrote a valuable account of his travels.
Another notable figure was Stevens van Vollenhouen, a 15th-century Dutch painter known for his religious works, including altarpieces and panel paintings.
In the 16th century, Stevens Janssens, a Flemish painter and engraver, gained recognition for his landscapes and mythological scenes.
In the 19th century, Stevens Arroyo, a Spanish painter, was renowned for his historical and religious works, including the famous painting "The Burial of St. Sebastian."
One of the most celebrated figures with the name Stevens was the American architect John Calvin Stevens (1855-1940), who designed several iconic buildings, including the Huntington Library and Art Gallery in San Marino, California.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals who have carried the name Stevens throughout history, reflecting its enduring popularity and cultural significance across various regions and time periods.
People
Stevens + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Stevens 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
Stevens: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Stevens?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 978 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Stevens 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 350,465 US residents.
Is Stevens a common name?
We classify Stevens as "Very Rare". It ranks above 90% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,306 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Stevens most popular?
The single biggest year for Stevens was 1989, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Stevens is about 48 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Stevens in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 986 people with the name Stevens, or 0.33 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,575 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 Stevens 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 Stevens?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Stevens leans strongly male. 927 people counted with this name were male (94.6%), compared with 53 female bearers (5.4%). 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 Stevens?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Stevens is White at 42.7%. The next largest groups are Black (29.7%) and Hispanic (21.1%). 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 Stevens most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Stevens in the 2020 Census, accounting for 42.7% (421 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 Stevens in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Stevens a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Stevens 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 Stevens still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Stevens 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 Stevens 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 are named Stevens?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.