Meanings
plural Stephens · alternative Steven
- countableuncountablebiblicalThe first Christian martyr.
And Steuen full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.
1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 6:8 - countableuncountableA male given name from Ancient Greek.
I thought that ideally it should be a name which could work whether he was serious and reserved or butch, a name like Stephen which could be Steve or David which could be Dave.
2000, Helen DeWitt, The Last Samurai, Miramax Books, published 2002, →ISBN, page 1424 more examples
I, for my part, ask any candid reader if it was not bad enough to be called Broadfoot, without having it aggravated into Stephen Broadfoot? I feel confident I will here get a tear of sympathy from all unhappy Andrews and Peters, and Aarons and Samuels, with a smile of disdainful compassion from thrice-happy Franks and Charleys and Bills.
1852, William Harrison Ainsworth, “Tale of a Carpet-Bag”, in Ainsworth's Magazine, volume 21, page 17It is doubtless true that American English lacks a tradition for the pronunciation of Anthony, a name which was not often bestowed upon American males until the comparatively recent craze for supposedly swank "British" Christian names, like Stephen, Peter, Michael, etc., in this country.
1952, Thomas Pyles, Words and Ways of American English, Random House, page 245As part of the listing, the company is seeking to create a third class of shares that would give Thiel, Karp and fellow cofounder Stephen Cohen “49.999999%” of the total voting power.
2020 August 25, Sara Ashley O'Brien and Rachel Metz, “Palantir files paperwork to go public and reveals it has never turned a profit”, in CNN BusinessStephen reigned from 1135-1154, that nasty period of our history dubbed 'The Anarchy', when forces loyal to Stephen contested the throne with those of Henry I's daughter Matilda, who by rights should have been queen. Stephen, her cousin, plonked his own posterior on the throne.
2023 December 27, Stephen Roberts, “Bradshaw's Britain: the way to Weymouth”, in RAIL, number 999, page 52 - countableuncountableA female given name.
Even in her fourteenth year Miss Stephen Norman gave promise of striking beauty; beauty of a rarely composite character.
1905, Bram Stoker, The Man - countableuncountableA surname originating as a patronymic.
- countableuncountableA minor city in Marshall County, Minnesota, United States, named after George Stephen.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*-nós
- Ancient GreekΣτέφανος
- LatinStephanus
- EnglishStephen
From Latin Stephanus, from Ancient Greek Στέφανος (Stéphanos), from στέφανος (stéphanos, “crown, wreath”), from στέφω (stéphō, “to put round, to surround”). From *stegʷʰ- (“to enlace”) + -νος (-nos, suffix forming an adjective or noun) from Proto-Indo-European *-nós (suffix forming a verbal adjective from a verb stem).
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek, Proto-Indo-European
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek Στέφανος, Στέφανος
- Στέφανος (Stéphanos)biblical martyr
- Στέφανος (Stéphanos)male given name
Arabic إِسْطِفَانُوس, اِسْتِفَانُوس
- إِسْطِفَانُوس (ʔisṭifānūs)biblical martyr
- اِسْتِفَانُوس (istifānūs)biblical martyr
- إِصْتِفَان (ʔiṣtifān)male given name
- سْتِيفِن (stīfin)male given name
Bulgarian Сте́фан, Стефан
- Сте́фан (Stéfan)biblical martyr
- Стефанmale given name
- Сти́вън (Stívăn)male given name
Catalan Esteve
- Estevemale given name
Chinese Cantonese 司提反, 士提反
- 司提反 (si¹ tai⁴ faan²)biblical martyr
- 士提反 (si⁶ tai⁴ faan²)biblical martyr
- 斯德望 (si¹ dak¹ mong⁶)biblical martyr
- 史提芬 (si² tai⁴ fan¹)male given name
Chinese Mandarin 司提反, 斯德望
- 司提反 (Sītífǎn)biblical martyr
- 斯德望 (Sīdéwàng)biblical martyr
- 史蒂文 (Shǐdìwén)male given name
- 斯蒂芬 (Sīdìfēn)male given name
Czech Štěpán, Štefan
- Štěpánmale given name
- Štefanmale given name
Danish Stefanus, Stefan
- Stefanusbiblical martyr
- Stefanmale given name
Dutch Stefanus, Steven
- Stefanusbiblical martyr
- Stevenmale given name
- Stefanmale given name
Esperanto Stefano, Stiven
- Stefanomale given name
- Stivenmale given name
Finnish Stefanos, Tapani
- Stefanosbiblical martyr
- Tapanimale given name
French Étienne, Étienne
- Étiennebiblical martyr
- Étiennemale given name
- Stéphanemale given name
German Stephanus, Stefan
- Stephanusbiblical martyr
- Stefanmale given name
- Stephanmale given name
- Steffenmale given name
Greek Στέφανος, Στέφανος
- Στέφανος (Stéfanos)biblical martyr
- Στέφανος (Stéfanos)male given name
- Στίβεν (Stíven)male given name
Hawaiian Setepano, Kepano
- Setepanobiblical martyr
- Kepanomale given name
Hebrew סטפן
- סטפןmale given name
Hindi स्तिफ़नुस, स्टीवन
- स्तिफ़नुस (stifanus)biblical martyr
- स्टीवन (sṭīvan)male given name
Hungarian István, István
- Istvánbiblical martyr
- Istvánmale given name
Icelandic Stefán
- Stefánmale given name
Irish Stiofán, Stiofán
- Stiofánbiblical martyr
- Stiofánmale given name
- Steafánmale given name
Italian Stefano, Stefano
- Stefanobiblical martyr
- Stefanomale given name
Japanese ステファノ, スティーヴン
- ステファノ (Sutefano)biblical martyr
- スティーヴン (Sutīvun)male given name
- スティーブン (Sutībun)male given name
Korean 스테파노, 스티븐
- 스테파노 (Seutepano)biblical martyr
- 스티븐 (Seutibeun)male given name
Latin Stephanus, Stephanus
- Stephanusbiblical martyr
- Stephanusmale given name
Latvian Stefans, Stefans
- Stefansbiblical martyr
- Stefansmale given name
Lithuanian Steponas
- Steponasmale given name
Māori Tēpene, Tīpene
- Tēpenebiblical martyr
- Tīpenemale given name
Norwegian Bokmål Stefanus, Stefan
- Stefanusbiblical martyr
- Stefanmale given name
Persian استفان, استیون
- استفان (estefân)biblical martyr
- استیون (estiven)male given name
Polish Szczepan, Stefan
- Szczepanbiblical martyr
- Stefanmale given name
- Szczepanmale given name
Portuguese Estêvão, Estêvão
- Estêvãobiblical martyr
- Estêvãomale given name
- Estéfanomale given name
Romanian Ștefan, Ștefan
- Ștefanbiblical martyr
- Ștefanmale given name
Russian Стефа́н, Степа́н
- Стефа́н (Stefán)biblical martyr
- Степа́н (Stepán)male given name
- Сти́вен (Stívɛn)male given name
Scottish Gaelic Stiobhan
- Stiobhanmale given name
Slovak Štefan
- Štefanmale given name
Spanish Esteban, Esteban
- Estebanbiblical martyr
- Estebanmale given name
- Estevanmale given name
Swahili Stefano, Stefano
- Stefanobiblical martyr
- Stefanomale given name
Swedish Stefanos, Stefan
- Stefanosbiblical martyr
- Stefanmale given name
- Staffanmale given name
Turkish İstefanos
- İstefanosmale given name
Ukrainian Степа́н
- Степа́н (Stepán)male given name
Urdu سٹیون
- سٹیون (sṭīvan)male given name
Vietnamese Stêphanô, Xtê-phen
- Stêphanôbiblical martyr
- Xtê-phenmale given name
Zulu uStefanu, uStefanu
- uStefanubiblical martyr
- uStefanumale given name
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with Stephen
All rhymes →Sounds the same
Cite this entry
Stephen. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Stephen
“Stephen.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Stephen. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Stephen,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Stephen.
Source: Stephen on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.