Sterling

What Sterling means

Variant of Stirling, possibly meaning “stream + pool, lake”

variant of Stirling || Borrowed from Middle Scots Stirveling, from Early Scots Strivelin, Strivelyn, likely from Old Irish sreb, srib (“stream”) + linn (“pool, lake”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Sterling” (revision 92688765) and “Stirling” (revision 93571660), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Sterling?

US: Rising: up from #493 in 2015. England & Wales: Rising: up from #2020 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2025, when 944 boys got the name (#345 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 1,809 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 11,331 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 6,547 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in SD (3.12 per 1,000 boys), MT (2.66 per 1,000 boys), HI (1.71 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Sterling is #345 in the US and #1197 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 81.2% of US babies named Sterling were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Stirling23 US · 10 E&W
• Starling13 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Sterling

Boys

• Wesley#52“west + wood, clearing”^*
• Wade#344“a ford”^*
• Wallace#960“foreign”^*
• Calvin#132“bald”^*
• Franklin#359“freeholder”^*
• Bellamy#721“fair + friend”^*

For a sister

• Blake#295“black”^*
• Murphy#397“descendant of Murrough”^*
• Darcy#857“to burn, consume”^*
• Kori#978Form of Corey, possibly meaning “troop, host, company”^*
• Fallon#778“descendant of Fallamhan”^*
• Merritt#703Editor’s note Used for both: 77% of US babies named Merritt in 2025 were girls

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under From a surname, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Sterling’s. Rank is US 2025.