Stephan is the German, Dutch and French-flavored spelling of Stephen, from the Greek stephanos, which means "crown" or "wreath", the garland given to victors in ancient games. Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr, carried the name across Europe. In the United States Stephan ranked number 721 in 2000, dropped out of the top 1000 in the years after and has eased from number 1140 in 2015 to number 1850 in 2025.