# Stirling (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/stirling/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A Scottish habitational surname derived from the town.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 2,836 |
| US rank (2010) | 11,158 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 108,867 people |
| Change since 2000 | +5.4% (2,691 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈstɝ.lɪŋ/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## 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.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Stirling in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 94% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 2.0% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.2% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.4% |
| Two or more races | 1.2% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Stirling in the United States and the United Kingdom.

## People named Stirling

- Lindsey Stirling, American violinist, musician, dancer, performance artist, singer and composer
- Rachael Stirling, British actress
- Linda Stirling, American model and actress (1921-1997)
- Matthew Stirling, American Mesoamericanist (1896–1975)

## Similar surnames

Sterling, Starling, Sutherlin, Sutherland, Southerland, Strohl, Satterlee, Straley, Soderlund, Strahl, Satterly.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.