# Stephen

> English word · Proper noun · IPA /ˈstiːvən/ · frequency rank #3,030

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

## 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).

## Easily confused with
- **Steven** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stephen-vs-steven)
- **steppe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stephen-vs-steppe)
- **stepped** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stephen-vs-stepped)
- **stepson** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stephen-vs-stepson)
- **Stephens** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stephen-vs-stephens)
- **Steph** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/steph-vs-stephen)
- **steen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/steen-vs-stephen)
- **Stepan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stepan-vs-stephen)
- **Stephan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stephan-vs-stephen)

## Common misspellings (11)
`setphen`, `sstephen`, `stehpen`, `stepehn`, `stephenn`, `stephhen`, `stephne`, `stepphen`, `stpehen`, `sttephen`, `tsephen`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/stephen