Find out how popular the last name Stephens is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Stephens.

Stephens, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Stephens surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Stephens in America

Stephens is the 190th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Stephens surname appeared 144,646 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 49 people would have the surname Stephens.

We can also compare 2010 data for Stephens to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Stephens

The surname Stephens is of English origin and derives from the Greek name Stephanos, meaning "crown" or "garland." It emerged as a surname in medieval England, often bestowed upon those who worked as stewards or crown-bearers, maintaining royal households or estates.

The earliest records of the name Stephens date back to the late 12th century, with mentions in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. One of the earliest documented individuals with this surname was Walter Stephens, a landowner in Somerset mentioned in the Feet of Fines for 1196.

During the 13th century, the name Stephens appeared in various forms, including Stevenes, Stevenes, and Stephanes, reflecting regional pronunciation variations. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 record a William Stephene from Oxfordshire, while the Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem from 1300 mentions a John Stephenes from Kent.

The Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings in England compiled in 1086, does not directly mention the surname Stephens. However, it does record several individuals with the given name Stephanus or Stefanus, which likely contributed to the eventual development of the surname.

Notable historical figures with the surname Stephens include Sir John Stephens (c. 1561-1615), an English lawyer and Member of Parliament during the reign of Elizabeth I. Another prominent bearer was Jeremy Stephens (1592-1665), a Puritan minister and one of the founders of Harvard College in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

In later centuries, the Stephens surname produced several distinguished individuals, such as Alexander Stephens (1812-1883), an American politician who served as the Vice President of the Confederate States during the American Civil War. Sir Leslie Stephens (1832-1904) was a notable English writer, critic, and the first editor of the Dictionary of National Biography.

Other notable individuals with this surname include Sir James Fitzjames Stephens (1829-1894), an English lawyer and legal philosopher, and Dame Georgina Stephens (1903-1995), an English actress and theater director who received widespread acclaim for her Shakespearean performances.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Stephens

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Stephens.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Stephens was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Stephens has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Stephens was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Stephens, please contact us.

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