How Many People Are Named Sterling?
people named Sterling are alive in the United States today (estimate)
About 1 in 10,910 people in the US has this name
Based on 41,197 babies named Sterling in Social Security records from 1880 to 2025, and the share of each birth year still alive in 2025.
Popularity Rank
💎 Rare
Peak Year
1,162 births
Trend
Stable (last 10 years)
📖 Name Origin & Meaning
Meaning:
From a Scottish surname which was derived from city of Stirling, which is itself of unknown meaning. The name can also be given in reference to the English word sterling meaning "excellent". In this case, the word derives from sterling silver, which was so named because of the emblem that some Norman coins bore, from Old English meaning "little star".
Source of the meaning, origin, pronunciation and related names: Behind the Name.
Same Sound, Other Spellings
These names are pronounced like Sterling in English. Counting Sterling and these spellings together, about 32,081 people alive in the US have the name.
Related & Similar Names
⚧ Gender Distribution
Of the babies given the name Sterling, 11.4% were girls and 88.6% were boys. The share of girls among babies named Sterling rose from 0% in the 1880s to 17.8% in the 2020s.
👥 Age Distribution
The average person named Sterling alive today is about 28 years old, and 57% are under 30. Half of them were between 7 and 43 in 2025.
📈 Popularity Over Time
Sterling first appears in the records in 1880, and 2025 was its biggest year so far, with 1,162 babies.
Babies given the name each year, 1880 to 2025
🏆 Rank History
Sterling has never been one of the 100 most popular boys' names. Its best rank was #308, in 1895. In 2025 it ranked #346.
| Boys | |
|---|---|
| Rank in 2025 | #346 |
| Best rank | #308 (1895) |
| Years in the top 100 | None |
| Rank in its biggest decade | #521 in the 2010s |
📍 State-Wise Distribution
People named Sterling alive today, by the state where they were born (estimate; state records start in 1910).
More people named Sterling were born in Texas than in any other state: about 3,636 of those alive today. Compared with the national rate in the same years, Sterling was given 3.6 times as often in Utah, 2.3 times in Louisiana and 2 times in District of Columbia.
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