Steffen
The German and Scandinavian form of Stephen, from the Greek stephanos, the wreath laid on a contest winner. Barely 177 Polish men carry it, so meeting one is rare enough to mark the family's German or Scandinavian roots.
Steffen Pronunciation
What Steffen means
Where Steffen comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Steffen is the German and Scandinavian form of Stephen, and it means crown, wreath. That meaning reaches back to the Greek stephanos, the wreath laid on a victor's head. Germanic speech took the longer Stephanos and pressed it into something shorter. Steffen is what remained.
The name settled across Denmark, Norway, and Germany as an ordinary given name. On a Polish class register full of Marek and Tomasz, a Steffen marks a German or Scandinavian family. The spelling with two f's is the giveaway.
The wreath in stephanos was a prize. It crowned athletes and poets who had won a contest. Steffen keeps that old honor folded inside a plain, everyday sound, and its short meaning stays crown, wreath.
How many people are named Steffen
1 in 120600 men in Poland is named Steffen. 177 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #2397 among male names.
Steffen as a middle name
Steffen is a first name for 177 men in Poland and a middle name for another 32, an 85/15 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 1488th, between Silvester (32) and Thành (32).
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#1486 Shaun32
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#1487 Silvester32
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#1488 Steffen32
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#1489 Thành32
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#1490 Tung32