Meaning: Its source is Stephanos, a Greek name meaning "Crown or garland."

Languages: This boy's name is used in German, Dutch, Greek, Russian, Polish, Serbian, Czech and Romanian.

Alternative Spellings: Stefaan

Popularity: The name Stefan ranked 638th in popularity for males of all ages in a sample of 2000-2003 Social Security Administration statistics and 708th in popularity for males of all ages in a sample of the 1990 US Census.

Narrative: In Christian scripture, Stephen was the first martyr, and the influence of this saint accounts for the popularity of both male and female variations of his name in many Western languages.

The Bible describes Stephen as a righteous and compassionate person who refused to disguise his beliefs, even though his frankness cost him his life.

Stephen was tried and condemned by the authorities. He was taken to the place where he was to be stoned, and those commissioned to do the bloody work gave their cloaks to a fellow persecutor of the Christians, Saul of Tarsus. In time, Saul the persecutor was transformed into Paul the Apostle, shaper of Christian doctrine and Christian missionary to the entire ancient world.