Stephan---short E sound (-eh)

NerdyLucy · September 2013

How would you spell this?

STEH-fen, much like how Stephan- is pronounced in Stephanie. And yes, this name is a boy's (middle) name to honor a family member named Stephanie.

Not like Steh-FAHN, with more emphasis on the last syllable. I've seen that spelled as Stefan.

We're not opposed to Steven/Stephen with an -ee sound either, but we do like it more with a short E sound (-eh). If you've ever heard the MMA fighter Stephan Bonnar's name pronounced, it's like that.

On BehindTheName.com, there's also Steffen, which may seem to fit the pronunciation better, but I have seen Stephan in the USA more than Steffen (with our pronunication).

Barbercharm · September 2013

Steffen and Stephan are pronounced different. Stephan is a legit name (also an SNL character).. Pronounced Steh-fon (emphasis on the "fon"). Steffen would be Steh-fen, more like Stephanie.

CeCe8579 · September 2013

I would go with Stephan!

Helenahhandbasket · September 2013

I am guilty of ALWAYS wanting to pronounce Stephen as Stef-an, so this spelling makes perfect sense to me.

Just to throw it out there-- I have always been fond of Stefano.

strawberrytree · September 2013

I've actually known 3 Stefans that pronounced it STEF-ahn. One Steffen, too. I think Stephan would frequently be mistaken for Steven/Stephen.

Eta: Oh, in the middle name spot it's not a big deal if it is occasionally mispronounced imo.

NerdyLucy · September 2013

Joy2611 said:

I can't answer this question without thinking of Steph-AHN UR-kel and then looking at your sig.

I'm sorry. :-)

No, don't be sorry. It occured to me as well. It's just another reason to avoid emphasis on the end. haha

NerdyLucy · September 2013

strawberrytree said:

I've actually known 3 Stefans that pronounced it STEF-ahn. One Steffen, too. I think Stephan would frequently be mistaken for Steven/Stephen.

Eta: Oh, in the middle name spot it's not a big deal if it is occasionally mispronounced imo.

Yeah, I do feel that if we use it, it'll be a middle name and therefore no biggie.

Steffen does seem like the more obvious spelling if we want a certain pronunication. We'll keep this in mind for the future. This spelling is slowly growing on me.

queenbone · September 2013

I have a friend named Stephan pronounced the way you want.

Isn't Stefan also an option? Not a fan of the Steffen spelling.

msmerymac · September 2013

Steff-an isn't an intuitive pronunciation for me in anything but Steffan, but I don't like that spelling. I'd go with Stephan if you are honoring a Stephanie and just correct people if needed (and usually people don't try to pronounce a middle name, they just ASK what your middle name is).

kaylynne · September 2013

msmerymac said:

Steff-an isn't an intuitive pronunciation for me in anything but Steffan, but I don't like that spelling. I'd go with Stephan if you are honoring a Stephanie and just correct people if needed (and usually people don't try to pronounce a middle name, they just ASK what your middle name is).

this.

I think Stefan could go either way. imdb.com has that as the spelling for the character on Vampire Diaries, and they pron that like Stephanie.

Stephan is the clearest connection to Stephanie, and while your pronunciation may not be some people's first guess, it is a logical pronunciation, and since it's a middle name it won't come up much.

NerdyLucy · September 2013

Barbercharm said:

Steffen and Stephan are pronounced different. Stephan is a legit name (also an SNL character).. Pronounced Steh-fon (emphasis on the "fon"). Steffen would be Steh-fen, more like Stephanie.

I thought the SNL character's name was spelled Stefon. Either way, I'm definitely trying to avoid that pronunciation if possible.