Ştefan
From the Greek for "crown" or "garland". Barely a hundred men in Poland carry it, and it stays off the newest birth register, so most Poles have never met one.
Ştefan Pronunciation
Ştefan is pronounced ŞTE-fahn (/ˈştɛfan/).
What Ştefan means
Where Ştefan comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Stefan comes from the Greek Stephanos, a word for a wreath or a garland. The stephanos was a real thing, the crown of leaves set on the head of a victor at the games. Its two Polish glosses, wieniec and korona, hold both readings at once, the ring of greenery and the royal band of metal.
Poland gave the name to a king. Stefan Batory ruled from 1576 and drove hard campaigns against Muscovy, and the crown in his name was also on his brow. The writer Stefan Żeromski bore it into the twentieth century. Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński bore it further still.
Open a school register today and Stefan still appears, filed near Szymon and Stanisław. Beside it stands Stefania, the feminine form. At home the name folds down to Stefek or Stefcio. Whatever the century, the word beneath it does not move: a crown of leaves.
How many people are named Ştefan
1 in 207245 men in Poland is named Ştefan. 103 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #3390 among male names.
Ştefan as a middle name
Ştefan is a first name for 103 men in Poland and a middle name for another 14, an 88/12 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 2585th, between Zane (14) and Abad (13).
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#2583 Zain14
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#2584 Zane14
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#2585 Ştefan14
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#2586 Abad13
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#2587 Abdelrahman13