English
The surname Steffens is of English origin.The name signifies the 'son of Stephen'.The name is derived from the Middle English Stephen,Steven,from the Greek Stephanos,'crown,wreath'.A name that was found already in Old English,but only as a monk's name.Stephen was a popular given name throughout the Middle Ages,having been borne by the first Cristian martyr,stoned to death at Jerusalem three years after the death of Christ (Acts 6-7)His feast day is celebrated next after Christ's own (26th of December).The name only became common after the Conquest ,were like John and Peter,it gained popularity with great rapidity.It was enormously popular in the hereditary surname period,and as a consequence,has endless representatives of nicknames and pet forms in the telephone directories of today.The variation Stiven arose in Scotland at the beginning of the nineteenth century.A certain John Stephen of Charleston,near Glamis castle,began to keep a journal in 1780 under the spelling Stephen,but by the time he came to write his last entry in 1830 he was signing himself John Stiven.The name dates back to the tenth century were a Stephanus is recorded in historical archives.The name was brought to America by English immigrants.One of the first fore fathers to bring this name to America is that of a George Stephens,who came to America aboard the Mary and Ann;he settled in Virginia.This name is the one hundredth and sixty-fifth most common surname in America.