answersLogoWhite

0

The name came before the spelling. It might be more useful to wonder how the "v" sound ended up with the spelling "ph". Speculation: This might be related to the fact that the name is not always pronounced with the "v" sound. It sounds more like Stefan in many languages and cultures. As the name became familiar to English speakers, the hard "fricative" sound of "f" got softened with vocalization, producing "v". The only phonetic difference between "f" and "v" is the vocalization while pronouncing "v".

User Avatar

Wiki User

17y ago

What else can I help you with?