Stephen (surname)

Stephen is a surname of English, Scottish, and German origin. It is a reasonably common surname. The German variant is thought to have originated from the German-speaking world as (Von) Stephan.

Stephen is the 3,845 most common surname in the USA.

MacStèaphain (Scottish Gaelic) Stephen is a sept of the clan MacTavish. It is believed that Stephens from North East Scotland (Morayshire, Banffshire, and Aberdeenshire) south of the Moray Firth are descended from a Viking named Tarben whose longship landed in Banffshire in the late 10th century CE. His name was Christianized to Stephen.

Notable people with the surname

 * Stephen (Australian legal family), a prominent legal dynasty, includes
 * Sir Alfred Stephen (1802–1894), Chief Justice of New South Wales
 * Sir Colin Stephen (1872–1937), lawyer and horse racing administrator
 * George Milner Stephen (1812–1894), Australian politician and faith healer
 * Harold Stephen MLA (1841–1889), Australian politician
 * Sir Henry Stephen (Matthew Henry Stephen 1828–1920), Puisne Judge in New South Wales
 * James Wilberforce Stephen (1822–1881), judge of the Victorian Supreme Court
 * Montagu Stephen MLA (1827–1872), solicitor and politician
 * Septimus Alfred Stephen MLC (1842–1901), solicitor and politician


 * A. G. Stephen (1862–1924), Hong Kong banker
 * Caroline Emelia Stephen (1834–1909), British philanthropist and writer on Quakerism
 * C. M. Stephen (1918–1984), Indian politician
 * Elizabeth Willisson Stephen (1856-1925), American author
 * George Stephen, 1st Baron Mount Stephen, Canadian businessman, financier, philanthropist
 * George A. Stephen (c.1922–1993), American inventor and entrepreneur
 * Harry Lushington Stephen, judge, alderman, writer
 * Hugh R. Stephen (1913–2002), mayor of Victoria, BC, Canada
 * James Stephen (disambiguation), several people
 * James Stephen (architect) (1858–1938), American architect
 * James Stephen (British politician) (1758–1832), British abolitionist lawyer and Member of Parliament
 * Sir James Stephen (civil servant) (1789–1859), British under-secretary for the colonies, 1836–1847
 * Sir James Fitzjames Stephen (1829–1894), British judge and anti-libertarian writer
 * James Kenneth Stephen (1859–1892), English poet


 * Jimmy Stephen (1922–2012), footballer
 * Julia Stephen (1846–1895), English art model, wife of Leslie
 * Leslie Stephen, English author, critic, historian, biographer, mountaineer, husband of Julia
 * Marcus Stephen (born 1969), President of Nauru (2007–2011)
 * Nicol Stephen, Scottish politician
 * Ninian Stephen (1923–2017), Australian judge and Governor-General of Australia
 * Norman Stephen (1865–1948), Scottish schoolmaster and cricketer
 * Pamela Helen Stephen (1964–2021), English opera singer
 * Shamar Stephen, American football player
 * Susan Stephen, English actor
 * W. S. E. Stephen (died c. 1973), philatelist