Sterling
Sterling is given to both girls and boys: 218 girls and 944 boys were given it in 2025 (#1,100 among girls’ names and #346 among boys’, #569 among all names counting both); 41,197 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 31,100 Americans named Sterling and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (76% of everyone recorded); the median is 26 years old and half are between 8 and 43.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Sterling by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Sterling mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Sterling is “a unisex given name transferred from the surname.”
/ˈstɝ.lɪŋ/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Sterling?
#346 among boys’ names, 2025
Sterling rose from #493 in 2015 to #346 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 0.31 to 0.55 per 1,000.
1,162 babies in 2025, the peak
Sterling peaked in 2025, when 1,162 babies were given it (944 boys, #346 among boys’ names). In 2024 it went to 885 boys.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 944 | #346 | 0.55 |
| 2024 | 885 | #371 | 0.51 |
| 2023 | 792 | #403 | 0.46 |
| 2022 | 803 | #398 | 0.46 |
| 2021 | 844 | #383 | 0.48 |
| 2020 | 768 | #400 | 0.44 |
| 2019 | 753 | #411 | 0.42 |
| 2018 | 783 | #409 | 0.43 |
| 2017 | 713 | #435 | 0.39 |
| 2016 | 671 | #458 | 0.35 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 595 | #493 | 0.31 |
| 2014 | 552 | #507 | 0.29 |
| 2013 | 441 | #583 | 0.23 |
| 2012 | 350 | #675 | 0.18 |
| 2011 | 307 | #739 | 0.16 |
| 2010 | 299 | #755 | 0.16 |
| 2009 | 231 | #899 | 0.12 |
| 2008 | 245 | #870 | 0.12 |
| 2007 | 269 | #800 | 0.13 |
| 2006 | 270 | #772 | 0.13 |
| 2005 | 272 | #743 | 0.14 |
| 2004 | 300 | #675 | 0.15 |
| 2003 | 325 | #632 | 0.16 |
| 2002 | 357 | #589 | 0.18 |
| 2001 | 395 | #545 | 0.20 |
| 2000 | 363 | #569 | 0.18 |
| 1999 | 392 | #531 | 0.20 |
| 1998 | 424 | #505 | 0.22 |
| 1997 | 428 | #494 | 0.23 |
| 1996 | 469 | #463 | 0.25 |
| 1995 | 511 | #446 | 0.27 |
| 1994 | 573 | #402 | 0.30 |
| 1993 | 504 | #437 | 0.26 |
| 1992 | 503 | #440 | 0.25 |
| 1991 | 454 | #463 | 0.22 |
| 1990 | 451 | #462 | 0.22 |
| 1989 | 389 | #486 | 0.19 |
| 1988 | 415 | #444 | 0.22 |
| 1987 | 326 | #492 | 0.17 |
| 1986 | 297 | #513 | 0.16 |
| 1985 | 275 | #527 | 0.15 |
| 1984 | 293 | #490 | 0.16 |
| 1983 | 276 | #508 | 0.15 |
| 1982 | 237 | #559 | 0.13 |
| 1981 | 218 | #581 | 0.12 |
| 1980 | 242 | #550 | 0.14 |
| 1979 | 225 | #571 | 0.13 |
| 1978 | 226 | #556 | 0.14 |
| 1977 | 214 | #573 | 0.13 |
| 1976 | 189 | #593 | 0.12 |
| 1975 | 183 | #600 | 0.12 |
| 1974 | 195 | #575 | 0.12 |
| 1973 | 194 | #570 | 0.12 |
| 1972 | 183 | #589 | 0.11 |
| 1971 | 242 | #523 | 0.14 |
| 1970 | 221 | #548 | 0.12 |
| 1969 | 234 | #509 | 0.13 |
| 1968 | 246 | #485 | 0.14 |
| 1967 | 216 | #512 | 0.12 |
| 1966 | 239 | #490 | 0.13 |
| 1965 | 215 | #523 | 0.12 |
| 1964 | 284 | #471 | 0.14 |
| 1963 | 288 | #465 | 0.14 |
| 1962 | 288 | #470 | 0.14 |
| 1961 | 249 | #505 | 0.12 |
| 1960 | 237 | #516 | 0.11 |
| 1959 | 259 | #487 | 0.12 |
| 1958 | 245 | #498 | 0.12 |
| 1957 | 246 | #496 | 0.11 |
| 1956 | 279 | #455 | 0.13 |
| 1955 | 267 | #456 | 0.13 |
| 1954 | 252 | #457 | 0.12 |
| 1953 | 255 | #450 | 0.13 |
| 1952 | 255 | #439 | 0.13 |
| 1951 | 260 | #420 | 0.14 |
| 1950 | 252 | #421 | 0.14 |
| 1949 | 260 | #422 | 0.15 |
| 1948 | 255 | #421 | 0.15 |
| 1947 | 281 | #409 | 0.15 |
| 1946 | 232 | #419 | 0.14 |
| 1945 | 216 | #410 | 0.16 |
| 1944 | 211 | #416 | 0.15 |
| 1943 | 217 | #422 | 0.15 |
| 1942 | 258 | #379 | 0.19 |
| 1941 | 200 | #413 | 0.16 |
| 1940 | 204 | #402 | 0.18 |
| 1939 | 177 | #429 | 0.16 |
| 1938 | 188 | #415 | 0.17 |
| 1937 | 166 | #439 | 0.16 |
| 1936 | 194 | #393 | 0.19 |
| 1935 | 179 | #413 | 0.17 |
| 1934 | 186 | #408 | 0.18 |
| 1933 | 186 | #397 | 0.19 |
| 1932 | 227 | #371 | 0.22 |
| 1931 | 193 | #405 | 0.19 |
| 1930 | 208 | #404 | 0.19 |
| 1929 | 250 | #356 | 0.23 |
| 1928 | 229 | #392 | 0.21 |
| 1927 | 236 | #386 | 0.21 |
| 1926 | 246 | #371 | 0.22 |
| 1925 | 241 | #385 | 0.22 |
| 1924 | 280 | #356 | 0.25 |
| 1923 | 253 | #376 | 0.23 |
| 1922 | 270 | #364 | 0.25 |
| 1921 | 269 | #372 | 0.24 |
| 1920 | 259 | #374 | 0.24 |
| 1919 | 254 | #361 | 0.26 |
| 1918 | 249 | #376 | 0.25 |
| 1917 | 218 | #384 | 0.24 |
| 1916 | 202 | #391 | 0.23 |
| 1915 | 209 | #373 | 0.25 |
| 1914 | 151 | #385 | 0.23 |
| 1913 | 132 | #362 | 0.26 |
| 1912 | 100 | #385 | 0.23 |
| 1911 | 47 | #425 | 0.21 |
| 1910 | 46 | #390 | 0.24 |
| 1909 | 47 | #343 | 0.29 |
| 1908 | 44 | #344 | 0.29 |
| 1907 | 39 | #358 | 0.27 |
| 1906 | 32 | #385 | 0.24 |
| 1905 | 30 | #390 | 0.23 |
| 1904 | 33 | #353 | 0.26 |
| 1903 | 31 | #352 | 0.26 |
| 1902 | 30 | #365 | 0.24 |
| 1901 | 28 | #352 | 0.26 |
| 1900 | 38 | #356 | 0.25 |
| 1899 | 18 | #454 | 0.17 |
| 1898 | 26 | #390 | 0.21 |
| 1897 | 25 | #382 | 0.22 |
| 1896 | 21 | #436 | 0.18 |
| 1895 | 35 | #308 | 0.30 |
| 1894 | 15 | #536 | 0.13 |
| 1893 | 30 | #321 | 0.27 |
| 1892 | 23 | #403 | 0.19 |
| 1891 | 25 | #348 | 0.25 |
| 1890 | 15 | #509 | 0.14 |
| 1889 | 15 | #494 | 0.14 |
| 1888 | 25 | #374 | 0.21 |
| 1887 | 19 | #390 | 0.19 |
| 1886 | 10 | #640 | 0.09 |
| 1885 | 18 | #436 | 0.17 |
| 1884 | 20 | #413 | 0.17 |
| 1883 | 20 | #396 | 0.19 |
| 1882 | 16 | #466 | 0.14 |
| 1881 | 8 | #695 | 0.08 |
| 1880 | 17 | #440 | 0.15 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Sterling a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 41,197 Americans recorded as Sterling, 9% are girls and 91% boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Sterling: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Sterling, and how old are they?
31,100 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 76% of the 41,197 Americans ever recorded as Sterling. The median Sterling alive today is 26 years old; half are between 8 and 43.
The 2020 Census counted 23,791 people named Sterling (2,322 women and girls, 21,469 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 26,583 born in the U.S. The Census count is 11% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 738 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 3,320 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 3,210 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 6,530 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 6,020 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 11,300 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Sterling born?
The states with the most babies named Sterling are Texas, California and Florida, with 27% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 173 | #278 | 1.3× |
| California | 62 | #580 | 0.7× |
| Florida | 56 | #410 | 0.8× |
| Georgia | 44 | #339 | 0.9× |
| Ohio | 41 | #379 | 0.6× |
| North Carolina | 39 | #355 | 1.2× |
| Michigan | 39 | #298 | 0.6× |
| Tennessee | 38 | #334 | 0.9× |
| Arizona | 38 | #257 | 1.1× |
| Washington | 37 | #217 | 0.8× |
Where Sterling is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Sterling is most over-represented in Utah: since 1910 it was given 2.6 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Sterling with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Sterling
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Sterling and names like it
- Compare Sterling and WesleyBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2020sSterling peaked in 2025.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Sterling since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Sterling: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2025The year the most babies were named Sterling.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Sterling alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with SMost given first.