Stephanos or Stefanos, in Greek Στέφανος, is a masculine given name derived from the Greek word στέφανος (stéphanos), meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame", from the verb στέφειν (stéphein), "to encircle, to wreathe".^[1][2] In Ancient Greece, crowning wreaths (such as laurel wreaths) were given to the winners of contests. Originally, as the verb suggests, the noun had a more general meaning of any "circle"—including a circle of people, a circling wall around a city, and, in its earliest recorded use, the circle of a fight, which is found in the Iliad of Homer.^[3] The English equivalent is Stephen.

People or biblical figures with the given name include:

• Saint Stephen (Greek: Stéphanos) (c. 5 AD–c. 34 AD), considered the first Christian martyr
• Stephanos Byzantios, 6th century author of a geographical dictionary
• Stephanos of Alexandria (fl. c. 580–c. 640), Byzantine philosopher and teacher
• Stephanos of Tallinn (born 1940), primate of the Orthodox Church of Estonia since 1999
• Stephanos Bibas (born 1969), United States circuit judge and professor of law and criminology
• Stephanos Christopoulos (1876–after 1906), Greek wrestler and weightlifter
• Stefanos Dedas (born 1982), Greek professional basketball head coach
• Stefanos Dragoumis (1842–1923), Greek judge, writer and Prime Minister of Greece in 1910
• Stefanos Gennadis (1858-1922), Greek general
• Stefanos Kapino (born 1994), Greek football goalkeeper
• Stephanos Mousouros, Ottoman-appointed Prince of Samos from 1896 to 1899
• Stephanos Papadopoulos (born 1976), Greek-American poet
• Stephanos Sahlikis (1330–after 1391), Cretan satirical poet
• Stephanos Stephanides (born 1951), Cypriot-born author, poet, translator, critic, ethnographer and documentary filmmaker
• Stephanos Theodosius (1924–2007), Bishop of the Calcutta diocese of the Malankara Orthodox Church
• Stefanos Tsitsipas (born 1998), Greek tennis player

References