Is there a sense in which Stephen was the first Catholic saint?

I was told that St. Stephen was the first saint but read that Ulrich of Augsburg was the first to be officially canonized. Chronologically, however, shouldn't Joseph or John the Baptist be the first saint? The penitent thief is also a saint, St. Dismas, and he was the first saint to die after Jesus. 1. Does Stephen get honored as the "first saint," and if so, why? 2. Did the rules for becoming a saint change, and if so, how?