Everyday LifeGreek → English
Stephanie
/ˈstɛfəni/proper noun
A female given name, the feminine counterpart of Stephen.
The Greek roots
στέφανος
stéphanos
wreath, crown
Literally: “crowned one”
Follow a root:στέφανος2 words
The story of the word
στέφανος is the wreath put round the head: the olive crown at Olympia, the garland at a wedding, the wreath on a sacrificial animal. Christians took it up for the martyr's crown, and Stephen, stoned in Acts, carried the name before he earned the metaphor. Stephanie arrives through Latin Stephania and French. At a Greek wedding the crowns are still στέφανα, and the ceremony is named after them rather than after the vows.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → French → English
Same family
Stephenstephanotis
In a sentence
Stephanie signs her emails Steph and has done since school.