The Stephenson surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 47,641 people carried this name — #733 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 6,190 people counted. That is up 2% from 46,662 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Stephenson surname

An English and Scottish surname originating as a patronymic.

From Stephen + -son.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Stephenson» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Stephen’.

An early record he cites: Gilbert fil. Stephani, Lincolnshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls. Fil. is Latin for “son of”.

His entry covers Stephen, Stephens, Stephenson and Stephan.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 716 · public domain.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

45 people named Stephenson live in Switzerland.

They live in 6 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Zurich 18
Vaud 9
Zug 7
Basel-Stadt 4
Geneva 4
Glarus 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 40 people named Stephenson.

Most of them — 23 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 7 départements, most often French Guiana.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 23
French Guiana 9
Nord 2
Martinique 2
Aisne 1
Loiret 1
Paris 1
Hauts-de-Seine 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In the Nordic population registers

57 people named Stephenson is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 57

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Stephenson was found among the farmers of 14 counties.

It was most frequent in Durham: 108 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 93. Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent. His list gives one count for the spellings Stephenson and Stevenson.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Durham 108
Northumberland 55
Yorkshire, North and East Ridings 54
Lincolnshire 42
Leicestershire and Rutland 33
Cumberland and Westmorland 32
Sussex 32
Nottinghamshire 28

And 6 more counties.

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In Scotland’s registers today

Stephenson was recorded 29 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 845th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 25. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

237 families named Stephenson, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 1,319 people lived in those households, 5.6 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 8 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Pennsylvania 51
Maryland 44
North Carolina 35
South Carolina 32
New York 28
Massachusetts 16
Virginia 15
Maine 5
Connecticut 5
Vermont 3
New Hampshire 2
Rhode Island 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 263 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Stephenson in American newspapers,
1908–1909.

Newspaper page from Iowa County Democrat carrying the name Stephenson
Iowa County Democrat 1909-01-28
Newspaper page from Vilas County News carrying the name Stephenson
Vilas County News 1909-03-31
Newspaper page from Iowa County Democrat carrying the name Stephenson
Iowa County Democrat 1908-09-03

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Stephenson in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2010s.

95,444 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Stephenson. The most, 14,292, date from the 1900s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Tasmania, at 1.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 29,944
Queensland 21,000
Victoria 19,093
South Australia 11,399
Tasmania 8,189
Western Australia 5,130
ACT (Canberra) 480
Northern Territory 45

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Stephenson.

Who carried it

People named Stephenson,
with a public archive behind them.

  • George Stephenson d. 1878 · politician
  • George Benjamin Stephenson d. 1968 · priest
  • William B. Stephenson d. 1884 · politician
  • Edna M. Stephenson d. 1982 · curator
  • Marmaduke Stephenson d. 1659
  • Susan Jane Stephenson d. 1937

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Stephenson,
in the records of 9 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States4,619 records

4,619 records of the Stephenson name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 1,699
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 770
  • Other U.S. records 2,150
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record William James Stephenson

    Born 1941; from Bound Brook, New Jersey. U.S. Army, air observation pilot; died of wounds 1966 in South Vietnam. Buried at Beverly National Cemetery, New Jersey.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Harry B. Stephenson

    Born 1920 in Ohio. Enlisted 1943 at Columbus; shipping clerk from Hocking County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2000, buried at Oak Grove Cemetery, Logan, Ohio.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Virgil E. Stephenson

    Born 1935; from Chattanooga, Tennessee. U.S. Marine Corps; killed in action 1953 in Korea. Buried at Chattanooga National Cemetery, Tennessee.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 4,619 records for Stephenson in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain).

Australia2,963 records

2,963 records of the Stephenson name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1,474
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 544
  • Other Australian records 945
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Sarah Stephenson

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Cadet, sailing from London in 1847. Native of Manchester, Lancashire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1850. Married 1850 in Longford, Tasmania, aged 18.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Mary Stephenson

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Mary Anne, sailing from Dublin in 1840. Native of Minorca. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1842.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Francis Ewens Stephenson

    Died 1885 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 56. Will registered in Tasmania in 1885.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 2,963 records for Stephenson in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada478 records

478 records of the Stephenson name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 246
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 55
  • Other Canadian records 177
  1. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Hallet Frederick Stephenson

    Served in the No. 2 Construction Battalion in the First World War, private; of Digby, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Jas Stephenson

    Came to Ontario in 1873 aboard the St Patrick, bound for Hamilton, Ontario; Scotch.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Sarah Jane Stephenson

    Buried in 1981 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 88.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.

Showing 3 of 478 records for Stephenson in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom149 records

149 records of the Stephenson name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 109
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 18
  • Other British records 22
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record Robert Ben Tydd Stephenson

    Born 1865 at Edinburgh. Served in the First World War. Named in the University of Aberdeen roll of service in the Great War, 1914-1919.

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Janet Stephenson

    Died 1978, aged 92; buried at Ballengeich Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Mary Stephenson

    Will proved in 1895; of Colwyn, Carnarvon.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)

Showing 3 of 149 records for Stephenson in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

New Zealand61 records

61 records of the Stephenson name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 41
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 15
  • Other New Zealand records 5
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Ethel Evelyn Stephenson

    Died 1980, aged 82; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Doris Stephenson

    Buried in 1997 at Buffalo Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 85.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Charles William Richard Stephenson

    Died 1916, aged 52; buried at Omaka Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 61 records for Stephenson in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Netherlands24 records

24 records of the Stephenson name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 11
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 11
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 2
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Harriet Walter Stephenson

    Died 1896 in Rotterdam, aged 42.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record John Irish Stephenson

    Died 1859 in Loosduinen, aged 73.

    Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 24 records for Stephenson in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

France6 records

6 records of the Stephenson name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Clifton Stephenson

    Born 1905 in the United Kingdom; died 1992 in Ambilly (Haute-Savoie).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 1 of 6 records for Stephenson in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Ireland4 records

4 records of the Stephenson name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John Stephenson

    Died 1838, aged 82; buried at Clontuskert, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 1 of 4 records for Stephenson in Ireland.

Counts: Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Germany1 record

1 record of the Stephenson name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Wilhelm Stephenson

    From Hanover. Reported taken prisoner in the Prussian casualty list of 26 February 1916 (Landwehr Infantry Regiment No. 73).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Other spellings of this name

The same name, spelled another way.

Spellings that H. B. Guppy (England and Wales, 1890) or the Registrar-General for Ireland (births index of 1890) counted as one name together with Stephenson.

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Stephenson.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Stephenson is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Stephenson volume
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