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

Stephenson, 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 Stephenson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Stephenson in America

Stephenson is the 733rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Stephenson surname appeared 47,641 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 16 people would have the surname Stephenson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Stephenson 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 Stephenson

The surname Stephenson is an English patronymic name derived from the personal name Stephen. The name originated in the late 12th century following the Norman conquest of England. It is composed of two elements: the personal name Stephen, from the Greek name Stephanos meaning "crown" or "wreath", and the suffix "-son" denoting "son of".

Stephenson is a common surname found in counties such as Yorkshire, Northumberland, and Lancashire, where it was particularly concentrated in the medieval period. The name first appeared in records in the late 12th century, with early spellings such as Stevensone, Stevenson, and Stephenson.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname is in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1166, which mentions a William Stephenson. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 also list several individuals with the name, including Robert Stevenson in Oxfordshire and William Stevenson in Buckinghamshire.

The surname is associated with several notable individuals throughout history, such as George Stephenson (1781-1848), the pioneering English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who is renowned as the "Father of Railways". Another notable bearer of the name was Sir James Stephenson (1808-1892), an English civil engineer who designed numerous railway lines and bridges in India during the British Raj.

Other historical figures include John Stephenson (1559-1616), an English Catholic priest and martyr who was executed during the reign of James I, and Thomas Stephenson (1819-1898), a British trade unionist and founder of the National Agricultural Labourers' Union.

The surname Stephenson has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Stephenson's Farm in Northumberland and Stephenson's Cottage in Cumbria, reflecting the geographical distribution and prominence of the name in certain regions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Stephenson

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

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 Stephenson 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 Stephenson 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 Stephenson was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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