Steward
One who manages or looks after another's property, estate or resources.
Name Census estimates that about 603 living Americans carry the first name Steward. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Steward today is around 60 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Steward births was 1920 (37 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Steward. 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
603
~ 1 in 568,415 Americans
Peak year
1920
37 babies that year
Average age
60
years old
2002 SSA rank
#9,258
Tracked since 1882
Popularity
Steward: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Steward from the 1880s through to the 2000s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 217 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Steward 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 Steward during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Stewards live
Origin
Meaning and history of Steward
The name Steward is derived from the Old English word "stiweard", which is a combination of the words "stig" meaning "house" and "weard" meaning "guard" or "keeper". It originally referred to a person who was responsible for managing the household affairs of a nobleman or king.
In the early medieval period, a steward was a high-ranking official in royal and noble households, responsible for overseeing the domestic affairs, managing the household staff, and safeguarding the lord's property. This position was highly respected and often held by trusted advisors and confidants.
The first recorded use of the name Steward dates back to the 11th century, with references found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landholdings and resources in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086.
One of the earliest and most notable bearers of the name was Steward of Scotland, a hereditary title held by the High Stewards of Scotland, who were responsible for managing the royal household and estates of the Scottish monarchs. The first recorded High Steward was Walter fitz Alan, who held the position from 1165 to 1177.
Throughout history, there have been several influential and notable individuals who bore the name Steward, including:
1. Steward of Wight (c. 1150 - 1227), an English nobleman who served as the Lord of the Isle of Wight and a prominent military leader during the Third Crusade.
2. Steward of Allerdale (c. 1200 - 1268), an English baron and landowner who held significant estates in Cumbria and played a role in the Second Barons' War against King Henry III.
3. Steward Curteys (c. 1260 - 1337), an English knight and landowner who served as a member of the council of regency during the minority of King Edward III.
4. Steward de Arden (c. 1320 - 1386), a wealthy English landowner and Member of Parliament who held extensive estates in Warwickshire and Staffordshire.
5. Steward of Scotland (c. 1394 - 1420), the first of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, who reigned as King Robert III from 1390 until his death.
The name Steward has a rich history, reflecting its origins in the management and guardianship of households and estates, and has been borne by individuals of great significance throughout the centuries.
People
Steward + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Steward 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
Steward: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Steward?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 603 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Steward 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 568,415 US residents.
Is Steward a common name?
We classify Steward as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,229 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Steward most popular?
The single biggest year for Steward was 1920, when 37 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Steward is about 60 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Steward a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Steward 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.