Now like most people I assume that
Stephanie is the feminine form of Stpehen. But I was reading Raffi `s novel Khent, written about Armenians at the time of the mid-late 19th century. One of the charcters is a girl named
Lila who has pretended to be a boy since birth to avoid being kidnapped by Kurdish tribesmen. Her "male" name is
Stephanie. What is this? Was
Stephanie ever used on males as well? Is there a completely differently origined name that just happens to be spelt the same way?