Stephenson is a medieval patronymic surname meaning "son of Stephen". The earliest public record is found in the county of Huntingdonshire in 1279. There are variant spellings including Stevenson. People with the surname include:
- D. C. Stephenson (1891–1966), American, Ku Klux Klan leader
- Debra Stephenson (born 1972), British actress
- Earl Stephenson (born 1947), American baseball pitcher
- George Stephenson (1781–1848), British mechanical engineer who created Stephenson's Rocket
- George Robert Stephenson (engineer) (1819–1905), English civil engineer (nephew of George Stephenson)
- Gilbert Stephenson (1878–1972), British Vice Admiral
- Gordon Stephenson (1908–1997), town planner and architect in Perth, Australia
- Helga Stephenson, Canadian media executive
- Henry Stephenson (1871–1956), British actor
- Isaac Stephenson (1829–1918), U.S. politician from Wisconsin
- Jim Stephenson, New Zealand international football (soccer) goalkeeper
- John Stephenson (disambiguation), people named John Stephenson
- M. F. Stephenson (1801 – after 1878), U.S. assayer of the Dahlonega, Georgia Mint
- Neal Stephenson (born 1959), U.S. author
- Nicola Stephenson (born 1971), British actress
- Pamela Stephenson (born 1949), New Zealand-Australian comedienne, actress and psychologist, also known as Pamela Connolly
- Paul Stephenson (footballer), former British footballer.
- Paul Stephenson (civil rights campaigner), British civil rights campaigner.
- Sir Paul Stephenson, former London Metropolitan Police Commissioner.
- Paul Stephenson (rugby league), Australian professional rugby league footballer.
- Riggs Stephenson (1898–1985), U.S. baseball player
- Robert Stephenson (1803–1859), British civil and railway engineer (son of George Stephenson)
- Samuel M. Stephenson (1803–1859), U.S. politician from Michigan
- Thomas Alan Stephenson (1898–1961), British zoologist
- Scott Stephenson, Australian ice hockey player
- Todd Stephenson, Australian ice hockey player
- William Stephenson (1897–1989), Canadian soldier, airman, businessman, inventor, and spymaster
- William Stephenson (psychologist) (1902–1989), psychologist and physicist
Famous quotes containing the word stephenson:
“Coal is a portable climate. It carries the heat of the tropics to Labrador and the polar circle; and it is the means of transporting itself whithersoever it is wanted. Watt and Stephenson whispered in the ear of mankind their secret, that a half-ounce of coal will draw two tons a mile, and coal carries coal, by rail and by boat, to make Canada as warm as Calcutta, and with its comfort brings its industrial power.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)