Sterling

Boy name

Sterling has been given to 41,197 babies in the U.S. since 1880. It peaked in 2025 and currently ranks #346 for boys (2025).

Meaning & origin /ˈstɜː.lɪŋ/

API See Stirling.

Origin: surnames

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Popularity over time births per year, 1880–2025

Hover or tap the chart to read any year.

Total babies

41,197

Peak year

2025 (1,162 babies)

Rank in 2025

#346 for boys

First recorded

1880

10-year trend

▲ +71%

Gender split

9% girls / 91% boys

Famous people named Sterling

Willard Boyle

Canadian physicist and inventor (1924–2011)

Sterling Hayden

American actor (1916–1986)

Sterling Knight

American actor, singer, songwriter, director, comedian and musician

Sterling K. Brown

American actor

Notability data from Wikidata (CC0).

Names with a similar vibe

Same primary gender, peaked around the same years, and roughly as common as Sterling.

Kylerboy

41,378 babies since 1922

Phoenixunisex

40,635 babies since 1968

Ottoboy

40,015 babies since 1880

Emilianoboy

42,849 babies since 1885

Theoboy

39,333 babies since 1880

Conradboy

39,298 babies since 1880

Lukasboy

44,072 babies since 1963

Ismaelboy

44,289 babies since 1903

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