Stewart
A masculine given name derived from "steward", an occupational surname.
Name Census estimates that about 19,732 living Americans carry the first name Stewart. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Stewart today is around 57 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Stewart births was 1959 (650 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Stewart. 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.
Key insights
- • Although Stewart is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 85 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
20K
~ 1 in 17,370 Americans
Peak year
1959
650 babies that year
Average age
57
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,958
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Stewart
Out of the 31,261 babies given the name Stewart since 1880, 99.7% 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.
Stewart as a male name
- Ranked #3,958 in 2024
- 28 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1956 (647 births)
Stewart as a female name
- Ranked #12,526 in 1999
- 7 female births in 1999
- Peak: 1988 (8 births)
Popularity
Stewart: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Stewart from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 5,742 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Stewart 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 Stewart during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Stewarts live
The SSA's state-level files cover 48 states and territories. New York, California, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Stewart, while North Dakota, Alaska, Rhode Island recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 512 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Stewart
The name Stewart is a masculine given name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the occupational surname Stewart, which means "steward" or "guardian." The name has its roots in the medieval period when the position of a steward, responsible for managing household affairs and estates, was a prominent role.
The earliest recorded use of the name Stewart dates back to the 12th century, when members of the Stewart family held the position of High Stewards of Scotland. The most notable figure was Walter Stewart, who served as the 6th High Steward of Scotland from 1292 to 1326. His son, Robert II, became the first monarch of the House of Stewart when he ascended to the Scottish throne in 1371.
Throughout the medieval and Renaissance periods, the name Stewart gained prominence in Scotland and was associated with the royal lineage. Several Scottish monarchs bore the name, including James I (1394-1437), James II (1430-1460), and James IV (1473-1513). The name also spread beyond Scotland, with notable figures such as Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley (1545-1567), the second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots.
Beyond the realm of royalty, the name Stewart has been carried by various historical figures, including Charles Stewart Parnell (1846-1891), an Irish nationalist politician and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party, and James Maitland Stewart (1908-1997), the renowned American actor known for his roles in classic films such as "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Rear Window."
Other notable individuals with the given name Stewart include Stewart Granger (1913-1993), a British actor known for his roles in adventure films, and Stewart Udall (1920-2010), an American politician who served as the Secretary of the Interior under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.
The name Stewart has also been associated with various literary works, such as the poem "The Lady of the Lake" by Sir Walter Scott, where one of the central characters is named Roderick Dhu, a Highland chieftain of the Clan Alpine, whose given name is Stewart.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Stewart
People
Stewart + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Stewart 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
Stewart: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Stewart?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 19,732 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Stewart 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 17,370 US residents.
Is Stewart a common name?
We classify Stewart as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 31,261 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Stewart most popular?
The single biggest year for Stewart was 1959, when 650 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Stewart is about 57 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Stewart a male name?
Yes, 99.7% of people registered as Stewart 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.