[5] Under the name Schwarzerz it was mentioned by Georgius Agricola in 1546, and it has been variously known as "black silver ore" (German Schwarzgultigerz), brittle silver-ore (Sprödglanzerz), etc.

The name stephanite was proposed by W Haidinger in 1845 in honour of the Archduke of Austria Stephan Franz Victor of Habsburg-Lorena (1817–1867).

[5] It frequently occurs as well-formed crystals, which are orthorhombic and occasionally show indications of hemimorphism: they have the form of six-sided prisms or flat tables terminated by large basal planes and often modified at the edges by numerous pyramid-planes.

[5] Associated minerals include proustite, acanthite, native silver, tetrahedrite, galena, sphalerite and pyrite.

[2] Localities which have yielded good crystallized specimens are Freiberg and Gersdorf near Rosswein in Saxony, Chañarcillo in Chile, and exceptionally Cornwall.