Sterling

“The starling bird” — Old English origin

Boy's name · #346 in the US (2025) · Trending

Sterling is climbing: on the charts since 1880, it is ranked #346 in 2025, with about 940 boys given the name last year. Roughly 37,000 have carried it all-time. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records. About 81% of babies named Sterling in recent years have been boys.

Around the world: about 1 in 1,600 boys in New Zealand (2025) · about 1 in 2,300 boys in Canada (2024) · about 1 in 6,500 boys in Scotland (2025).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 44 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Sterlings

Sterling Hayden — American actor (1916–1986)
Sterling Knight — American actor, singer, songwriter, director, comedian and musician
Sterling K. Brown — American actor
Sterling Morrison — American musician (1942–1995)
Sterling Holloway — American actor (1905–1992)

In stories & tradition

Sterling Archer — Archer
Sterling Silversmith — Detective Comics
Sterling — Cars 3

What Sterlings become

Among 159 notable people named Sterling:

Sports figures appear 1.52× more often than among typical names — e.g. Sterling Brown, American basketball player.

Similar names: Conrad · Stetson · Marshall · Stanley · Clark · Alonzo

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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