Stephen

/ˈstiːvən/

//ˈstiːvən// name

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"stephen" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Stephen” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,030. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,030
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
9
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The first Christian martyr.

Corpus desk

Index EN-stephen · Stephen · English

Stephen · rank #3,030 · 11 variants · 9 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,030
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 9 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH stations

Nearest frequency peer: stations (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “Stephen”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “Stephen” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Stephen vs Steven
71% similar
Stephen vs steppe
57% similar
Stephen vs stepped
57% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Stephen
PropertyValue
HeadwordStephen
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˈstiːvən/
Letters7
Frequency rank#3,030
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs9
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Stephen”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).Stephenlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “stations” (#3,029), “tower” (#3,031), “sons” (#3,028). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “Stephen” is #3,030. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around Stephen (IPA /ˈstiːvən/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #3,030 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for Stephen, with forms such as "setphen", "sstephen", and "stehpen". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 9 confusable-pair relationships, "Steven", "steppe", "stepped", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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-Europ… The correct English form is Stephen, spelled S-T-E-P-H-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The first Christian martyr.
  2. 2
    A male given name from Ancient Greek.
  3. 3
    A female given name.
  4. 4
    A surname originating as a patronymic.
  5. 5
    A minor city in Marshall County, Minnesota, United States, named after George Stephen.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how Stephen appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. And Steuen full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.
  2. 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.

Etymology

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).

This word in other languages

Esteban(Español)Étienne(Français)Stefan(Deutsch)Estêvão(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • setphen
  • sstephen
  • stehpen
  • stepehn
  • stephenn
  • stephhen
  • stephne
  • stepphen
  • stpehen
  • sttephen
  • tsephen

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Stephen - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

setphen2sstephen1stehpen2stepehn2stephenn1stephhen1stephne2stepphen1
Edit distance from "Stephen"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Stephen"?
"Stephen" is spelled S-T-E-P-H-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈstiːvən/.
What does "Stephen" mean?
As a proper noun, "Stephen" means: The first Christian martyr.
What words are commonly confused with "Stephen"?
"Stephen" is commonly confused with "Steven", "steppe", "stepped". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Stephen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Stephen" is /ˈstiːvən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "Stephen"?
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-... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Stephen", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

visited#3,033Zealand#3,036authors#3,040cabinet#3,044

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

achieved11 variantsmemories11 variantsIslands11 variantshanging11 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list