# Stirling (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/stirling/  
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 | “stream”, “pool”, “lake” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈstɝ.lɪŋ/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 929 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 851 / 78 (8% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 299, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Borrowed from Middle Scots Stirveling, from Early Scots Strivelin, Strivelyn, likely from Old Irish sreb, srib (“stream”) + linn (“pool, lake”). Cognate with Old French Estrivelin, Middle Welsh Ystriflin.

## What it means

Stirling is grouped under water.

## 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 10 | 8,747 |
| 1997 | 6 | 13,501 |
| 2001 | 6 | 15,107 |
| 2002 | 7 | 13,443 |
| 2004 | 7 | 14,012 |
| 2009 | 5 | 19,851 |
| 2017 | 7 | 13,944 |
| 2018 | 7 | 13,645 |
| 2020 | 5 | 17,221 |
| 2021 | 8 | 12,071 |
| 2024 | 10 | 10,183 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 14 | 6,203 |
| 2012 | 11 | 7,481 |
| 2013 | 16 | 5,620 |
| 2014 | 17 | 5,453 |
| 2015 | 24 | 4,274 |
| 2016 | 21 | 4,751 |
| 2017 | 20 | 4,913 |
| 2018 | 18 | 5,287 |
| 2019 | 17 | 5,526 |
| 2020 | 18 | 5,200 |
| 2021 | 13 | 6,628 |
| 2022 | 12 | 7,200 |
| 2023 | 21 | 4,864 |
| 2024 | 15 | 6,149 |
| 2025 | 23 | 4,517 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 16 | 1,447 |
| 2012 | 9 | 2,270 |
| 2013 | 10 | 2,055 |
| 2014 | 13 | 1,721 |
| 2015 | 28 | 1,024 |
| 2016 | 17 | 1,498 |
| 2017 | 12 | 1,923 |
| 2018 | 10 | 2,112 |
| 2019 | 13 | 1,745 |
| 2020 | 9 | 2,228 |
| 2021 | 22 | 1,218 |
| 2022 | 17 | 1,469 |
| 2023 | 12 | 1,906 |
| 2024 | 10 | 2,263 |
| 2025 | 10 | 2,269 |

## In other languages

- Scottish Gaelic: Sruighlea

## People named Stirling

- Stirling Moss, British motor racing driver (1929-2020)
- Stirling Silliphant, American screenwriter (1918–1996)
- Stirling Mortlock, Australian rugby union player

## 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.