Wow, didn't mean to offend! And no, I've never taken a Celtic Studies course anywhere at any time. My voice teacher is Cornish, and it's from him that I've learnt most of what I know about Cornwall. Of course through intermarriage names get spread around, and Wales and Cornwall are fairly close geographically. You will find that there are names that sound Brythonic in the Lowlands of Scotland as well, where my mother also has ancestors. Stephens could have come from Wales in the Middle Ages and then been thoroughly "Cornishised," or has Cornwall always had -s names?

Did you know that any Irish name with Fitz in it is Norman? So is Fraser in Scotland. My grandmother,though a Scot, bore the maiden name Alverson, a Viking name. The British Isles are a very mixed bag. Some of my ancestors are Witherspoons, and that sure doesn't sound Gàidhlig to me, that sounds Welsh.

My gran is a geneologist, by the way, which is another reason that I know a little bit about names. Our lines go back many centuries. My grandfather was a NATO guy and they lived in Belgium, from where they travelled Western Europe tracing our bloodlines. Anyway, sorry you feel my statements are spurious.

Here's a tidbit from an Irish site, too. They had a lot of contact with Wales at times.

The names Stevens and Stephens in Ireland are derived from the native Gaelic Mac Giolla Stiofain Sept. It was also brought to the country by settlers especially during the sixteenth century. Other descendants may deirve from the Norman Fitzstephen families. This name is now mostly found in Counties Dublin and Mayo.

There you have it. A popular name by any means, and found far and wide.