# Sterling (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/sterling/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈstɝ.lɪŋ/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 41,197 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 37,474 / 3,723 (9% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 288, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

See Stirling.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 64 | 2,758 |
| 2012 | 65 | 2,733 |
| 2013 | 70 | 2,565 |
| 2014 | 97 | 2,035 |
| 2015 | 85 | 2,233 |
| 2016 | 133 | 1,643 |
| 2017 | 127 | 1,695 |
| 2018 | 126 | 1,670 |
| 2019 | 115 | 1,786 |
| 2020 | 122 | 1,686 |
| 2021 | 182 | 1,275 |
| 2022 | 171 | 1,365 |
| 2023 | 180 | 1,275 |
| 2024 | 219 | 1,116 |
| 2025 | 218 | 1,100 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 307 | 739 |
| 2012 | 350 | 675 |
| 2013 | 441 | 583 |
| 2014 | 552 | 507 |
| 2015 | 595 | 493 |
| 2016 | 671 | 458 |
| 2017 | 713 | 435 |
| 2018 | 783 | 409 |
| 2019 | 753 | 411 |
| 2020 | 768 | 400 |
| 2021 | 844 | 383 |
| 2022 | 803 | 398 |
| 2023 | 792 | 403 |
| 2024 | 885 | 371 |
| 2025 | 944 | 346 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 3 | 5,581 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 5 | 3,300 |
| 2012 | 8 | 2,458 |
| 2013 | 6 | 2,954 |
| 2014 | 6 | 2,964 |
| 2015 | 11 | 2,020 |
| 2016 | 18 | 1,431 |
| 2017 | 18 | 1,398 |
| 2018 | 11 | 1,991 |
| 2019 | 18 | 1,369 |
| 2020 | 24 | 1,111 |
| 2021 | 24 | 1,139 |
| 2022 | 25 | 1,104 |
| 2023 | 23 | 1,207 |
| 2024 | 16 | 1,595 |
| 2025 | 24 | 1,197 |

## People named Sterling

- Sterling Hayden, American actor (1916–1986)
- Sterling K. Brown, American actor
- Sterling Knight, American actor, singer, songwriter, director, comedian and musician
- Sterling Morrison, American musician (1942–1995)
- Sterling Holloway, American actor (1905–1992)
- Sterling Price, American politician and Confederate States Army general in the Civil War (1809–1867)
- Sterling Beaumon, American actor
- Sterling Jerins, American actress
- William Sterling Cole, American politician (1904-1987)
- Sterling Brown, American basketball player (born 1995)
- Julius Sterling Morton, American politician (1832-1902)
- Sterling Campbell, American drummer

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.