Stead (pronounced 'sted' as in "instead") is a surname, and may refer to
- C. K. Stead (born 1932), New Zealand writer and critic
- Christina Stead (1902–1983), Australian writer
- Dave Stead (born 1966), drummer
- David George Stead (1877–1957), Australian marine biologist, conservationist and writer
- Edgar Stead (1881–1949), New Zealand ornithologist, horticulturist and marksman
- Edward Stead (1701–1735), early English cricket team manager
- Eugene A. Stead (1908–2005), American physician
- Gary Stead (born 1972), New Zealand cricketer
- George Christopher Stead (1913–2008), Cambridge professor of philosophy and Christian doctrine
- George Gatonby Stead (1841–1908), Zealand grain merchant, racehorse owner and breeder, businessman
- Jon Stead (born 1983), English footballer
- Martin Stead (born 1958), Canadian cricketer
- Ralph Stead (1917–2000), British corporate chairman
- Robert J.C. Stead (1880–1959), Canadian Journalist and Author
- William Force Stead (1884–1967), American diplomat, poet, academic and clergyman
- William Thomas Stead (1849–1912), British poet and journalist
Stead may also refer to
- Reno Stead Airport near Reno, Nevada, United States
Famous quotes containing the word stead:
“Philosophy is by the timid for the timid.”
—Christina Stead (1902–1983)
“Financiers are great mythomaniacs, their explanations and superstitions are those of primitive men; the world is a jungle to them. They perceive acutely that they are at the dawn of economic history.”
—Christina Stead (1902–1983)
“A woman is a hunter without a forest.”
—Christina Stead (1902–1983)