boy's name
Sterling
STUR-ling
- Origin English
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 8
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 43,009
the United States
#345
2025 births
Sterling is a unit of money that became a name, and the coin was probably named for a bird — the little star on early Norman pennies gives one account, and a starling stamped on them gives the other.
- Sterling is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 2025, when 1,162 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 2,853 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Sterling over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 168 |
| 1890s | 233 |
| 1900s | 352 |
| 1910s | 1,622 |
| 1920s | 2,580 |
| 1930s | 1,930 |
| 1940s | 2,383 |
| 1950s | 2,597 |
| 1960s | 2,544 |
| 1970s | 2,183 |
| 1980s | 3,225 |
| 1990s | 5,278 |
| 2000s | 3,576 |
| 2010s | 6,398 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 6,128 |
What Sterling means
Sterling means of standard quality, from the silver penny. The word names a coin and a purity standard before it describes anything about a person.
Where Sterling comes from
Sterling is the English silver penny, and its origin is disputed. One account takes it from a little star stamped on early Norman coins; another from a starling, also depicted; a third from the Easterlings, German merchants whose coin was trusted for its purity. Whichever is right, sterling came to mean of reliable standard, which is why sterling silver is 92.5 percent pure and a sterling character is dependable.
Sterling in use
Sterling peaked in the United States in 2025, when 1,162 babies were registered, and our data marks it rising. It now ranks 345th in the United States on 1,162 births, 1200th in England and Wales on 24 and 5377th in France on 5, across 43,009 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track. About 9 percent of recorded births are female, and our records carry it from 1880.
How popular is Sterling?
In 2025, Sterling was given to 1,162 babies in the United States, ranking #345 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Sterling is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Sterling
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Sterling also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Sterling over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Sterling in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Other forms
- Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
- Stirling
Sibling names for Sterling
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Sterling — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Sterling
What does the name Sterling mean?
Of standard quality — from the English silver penny.
Where does the coin's name come from?
Disputed: a little star, a starling, or the Easterling merchants whose coin was trusted.
Why is sterling silver 92.5 percent?
That was the standard purity the word came to guarantee.
Is Sterling rising?
Our data marks it rising, with its peak in the most recent year we hold.
How popular is the name Sterling?
In 2025, Sterling was given to 1,162 babies in the United States, ranking #345 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Sterling a girl's or a boy's name?
Sterling is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Sterling?
Sterling has 2 syllables.
When was Sterling most popular?
Sterling peaked in 2025, when 1,162 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
Is Sterling a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Sterling currently ranks #345 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.