William Stephens, American lawyer and politician, 24th Governor of California (d. 1944)
William Stephens is the name of:

William Stephens (fl. 1650s), Member of Parliament for Newport (Isle of Wight) 1645 and 1659–60

William Stephens (d. 1697) (1641–1697), (Sir), Member of Parliament for Newport (Isle of Wight) 1685–87 and 1689–95

William Stephens (minister) (1647–1718), Anglican priest

William Stephens (governor of Georgia) (1671–1753), governor of the Province of Georgia, 1743–1751; MP for Newport (Isle of Wight) 1702–1722, for Newtown (Isle of Wight) 1722–1727

William Stephens (glassmaker) (1731–1803), English merchant and glass manufacturer in Portugal

William Stephens (judge) (1752–1819), U.S. federal judge

William Stephens (academic) (1829–1890), English-born headmaster at Sydney Grammar School and professor at the University of Sydney

William Stephens (Dean of Winchester), (1839–1902), Anglican priest

William Stephens (Australian politician), (1857–1925), Australian politician

William Stephens (American politician) (1859–1944), American politician.

William Stephens (cricketer) (1870–1954), New Zealand cricketer

William Stephens (producer) (1897–1962), American film producer

William Ward Stephens (1922–1987), American Thoroughbred horse racing trainer

William E. Stephens, inventor of time-of-flight mass spectrometry in 1946

Bill Stephens (born 1949), American TV host

William O. Stephens (born 1962), Professor of Philosophy