Stephanie Is Not in the Bible — but Stephen, the First Martyr, Is



  • Stephanie is not in the Bible. It is the feminine of Stephen, from the Greek stephanos, “crown” or “wreath.”
  • Stephen appears in Acts 6 and 7, and Paul mentions a related name, Stephanas, in 1 Corinthians 16:15.
  • Stephen was one of seven men chosen to oversee the daily distribution of food to widows (Acts 6:5).
  • He was stoned outside Jerusalem after speaking before the council, praying “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:60). Saul, later the apostle Paul, approved of his killing.
  • The word stephanos is used for the “crown of righteousness” (2 Timothy 4:8) and for the crown of thorns (Matthew 27:29).

Stephanie is not in the Bible, but Stephen, the name it comes from, is. Stephanie is the feminine of Stephen, from the Greek stephanos, “crown” or “wreath,” and Saint Stephen, whose death is told in Acts 7, was the first Christian martyr. What does Stephanie mean? Stephanie means “crown” or “wreath.” It is the feminine of Stephen, from the Greek Stephanos, whose root sense is “that which surrounds.” A stephanos was the wreath of leaves given to the winner of…

Continue reading with a subscription

Get unlimited access to all our premium content and exclusive features.

Enjoy unlimited access, cancel anytime.



Discover more from Christian Pure

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading

Share to...