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Stephen

Boy name · 14,608 babies recorded · 1974–2025

Stephen: 14,608 babies born in Scotland since 1974, given to boys, peaking at 866 births in 1974.

The name Stephen comes from the Greek *Stephanos*, meaning "crown" or "garland," and was borne by Saint Stephen, Christianity's first martyr, a deacon stoned to death in Jerusalem around 34 AD. Its most famous modern bearer is the physicist Stephen Hawking, whose work on black holes reshaped cosmology despite his battle with motor neurone disease. The name also belongs to Stephen King, the prolific horror author whose novels like *The Shining* have sold hundreds of millions worldwide. Place-wise, the town of Stevenston in North Ayrshire shares the same root, as does the surname Stevenson, famously held by the writer Robert Louis Stevenson. A notable variant, Steven, became more popular in Scotland from the 1950s onwards, while the Greek original remains rare.