boys' name ★ peaked 1959

Steve

Gender Boy Rank 2025 #1,617 Trend ↓ Falling 31%
Rank 2025
#1,617
among boys · ↑80 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
105
named Steve · +6% vs 2024
How common
1 in 16,267
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1959
11,095 babies
All-time total
242,131
#163 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Steve popularity over time

242,131 babies have been named Steve since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
1.883.755.637.518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 618 618 62 – #179
1890s – 752 752 75 +22% #172
1900s – 1,307 1,307 131 +74% #141
1910s 33 9,638 9,671 967 +640% #108
1920s 76 11,354 11,430 1,143 +18% #127
1930s 34 8,572 8,606 861 -25% #139
1940s 94 36,286 36,380 3,638 +323% #58
1950s 205 64,212 64,417 6,442 +77% #41
1960s 200 65,619 65,819 6,582 +2% #43
1970s 129 16,652 16,781 1,678 -75% #114
1980s 103 10,392 10,495 1,050 -37% #201
1990s 33 7,654 7,687 769 -27% #267
2000s – 5,097 5,097 510 -34% #394
2010s – 2,348 2,348 235 -54% #708
2020s (to 2025) – 723 723 121 -49% #1,253

Where Steve is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 99 0.06 outside top 500
2027 94 0.06 outside top 500
2028 90 0.05 outside top 500
2029 87 0.05 outside top 500
2030 84 0.05 outside top 500

Where Steve is most popular

Boys named Steve per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.067 per 1,000. Strongest in California, Florida, and Illinois.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Steve born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
California 103 0.113 +69%
Florida 52 0.110 +65%
Illinois 26 0.102 +53%
New York 39 0.090 +35%
Texas 70 0.079 +19%
Georgia 14 0.055 -17%
Maryland 5 0.042 -37%
Arizona 6 0.037 -45%
Massachusetts 5 0.036 -45%
Virginia 6 0.032 -53%
Tennessee 5 0.028 -58%
Ohio 6 0.023 -66%
Pennsylvania 6 0.023 -66%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Maine – – –
Michigan – – –
Minnesota – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Carolina – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
Wisconsin – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Steve

Steve is rare for boys in the United States, ranked #1,617 in 2025 with 105 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 242,131 American babies have been named Steve. Its peak came in 1959, when 11,095 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1950s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Steve stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Steve?

The median living Steve is about 64 years old; half are between 56 and 69. An estimated 164 thousand people named Steve are alive in the United States today.

median 64 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Steve year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 – – 105 #1,617
2024 – – 99 #1,697
2023 – – 114 #1,545
2022 – – 122 #1,490
2021 – – 135 #1,370
2020 – – 148 #1,253
2019 – – 159 #1,207
2018 – – 167 #1,153
2017 – – 189 #1,057
2016 – – 205 #997
2015 – – 224 #940
2014 – – 256 #863
2013 – – 242 #875
2012 – – 303 #756
2011 – – 324 #708
2010 – – 279 #786
2009 – – 415 #611
2008 – – 422 #597
2007 – – 448 #576
2006 – – 472 #535
2005 – – 475 #519
2004 – – 484 #507
2003 – – 563 #446
2002 – – 545 #451
2001 – – 624 #401
2000 – – 649 #394
1995 – – 754 #334
1990 8 #10,072 1,007 #267
1985 9 #7,486 990 #234
1980 11 #6,269 1,218 #201
1975 16 #4,107 1,383 #171
1970 15 #4,018 2,930 #114
1965 11 #4,169 5,685 #55
1960 21 #2,716 10,645 #43
1955 16 #2,953 5,509 #72
1950 14 #2,893 4,207 #83
1945 10 #3,104 3,384 #79
1940 6 #4,291 1,555 #121
1935 – – 773 #176
1930 7 #4,000 862 #169
1925 7 #4,379 1,145 #144
1920 – – 1,281 #127
1915 – – 1,335 #110
1910 – – 245 #136
1905 – – 126 #161
1900 – – 139 #150
1895 – – 71 #204
1890 – – 66 #202
1885 – – 60 #205
1880 – – 52 #232

Famous people named Steve

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Steve Jobs Steve Jobs American businessman and inventor (1955–2011) Contemporary
  2. 2 Steve Carell Steve Carell American actor and comedian (born 1962) Contemporary
  3. 3 Steve Martin Steve Martin American comedian, actor, musician and writer (born 1945) Contemporary
  4. 4 Steve Irwin Steve Irwin Australian conservationist (1962–2006) Contemporary
  5. 5 Steve McQueen Steve McQueen American actor (1930–1980) Contemporary
  6. 6 Steve Buscemi Steve Buscemi American actor and director (born 1957) Contemporary
  7. 7 Steve Perry Steve Perry American singer and songwriter (born 1949) Contemporary
  8. 8 Steve Bannon Steve Bannon American media executive and political strategist (born 1953) Contemporary
  9. 9 Steve Wozniak Steve Wozniak American engineer and programmer (born 1950) Contemporary
  10. 10 Steve Kerr Steve Kerr American basketball player and coach (born 1965) Contemporary
  11. 11 Steve Nash Steve Nash Canadian basketball player and coach (born 1974) Contemporary
  12. 12 Steve Ballmer Steve Ballmer American businessman and investor (born 1956) Contemporary
  13. 13 Steve Winwood Steve Winwood English musician (born 1948) Contemporary
  14. 14 Steve Guttenberg Steve Guttenberg American actor, author, businessman, producer, and director (born 1958) Contemporary
  15. 15 Steve Cropper Steve Cropper American musician and record producer (1941–2025) Contemporary
  16. 16 Steve Vai Steve Vai American guitarist (born 1960) Contemporary
  17. 17 Steve McQueen Steve McQueen British film director and video artist (born 1969) Contemporary
  18. 18 Steve Davis Steve Davis English snooker player (born 1957) Contemporary
  19. 19 Steve Ditko Steve Ditko American comics artist (1927–2018) Contemporary
  20. 20 Steve Biko Steve Biko South African anti-apartheid activist (1946–1977) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Steve, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Steve?

The median living Steve is about 64 years old. Half of all living Steves are between 56 and 69 years old.

How many people named Steve are alive today?

An estimated 164 thousand people named Steve are alive in the United States, based on 242,131 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

How popular is the name Steve in 2025?

Steve ranked #1,617 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 105 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Steve?

242,131 babies have been named Steve in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Steve most popular?

Steve peaked in 1959, when 11,095 newborns received the name.

Is Steve a boy or girl name?

Steve is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Steve rising or falling?

Steve is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Steve become more popular?

Steve is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 84 boys named Steve in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Steve?

Well-known people named Steve include Steve Jobs (designer), Steve Carell (actor), Steve Martin (comedian).

Names like Steve

Names that sound and feel close to Steve: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Steve with similar names → More names starting with S →