Sterling
Top 1000
About Sterling
A name with some sterling qualities, most associated with the British currency and silver markets, though it could easily be seen as a virtue-adjacent choice, like Merit, Chosen, or Hero. It has been a rising star in the US in recent years, appearing in the Top 400 in the latest count, when it was given to 880 boys.
Sterling has several recent TV associations, with characters Roger Sterling (on Mad Men) and Sterling Archer (on Archer), along with actor Sterling K. Brown (on This is Us). In literature, there's also January Sterling from The Mars House by Natasha Pulley.
While it is used four times more often for boys, it has been catching parent's attention for girls too. It is currently split 20:80.
As of October 2026, Sterling ranked #346 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #308 in 1895, Nameberry popularity #376.
Editor's take: The name Sterling is a boy's name of English origin meaning "of the highest quality".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #507 | 552 | 287.4 |
| 2015 | #493 | 595 | 310.4 |
| 2016 | #458 | 671 | 353.6 |
| 2017 | #436 | 712 | 384.7 |
| 2018 | #409 | 783 | 431.1 |
| 2019 | #410 | 753 | 419.7 |
| 2020 | #400 | 767 | 444.4 |
| 2021 | #382 | 844 | 482.4 |
| 2022 | #398 | 802 | 459.3 |
| 2023 | #403 | 792 | 463 |
| 2024 | #372 | 880 | 510.8 |
| 2025 | #346 | 944 | 552.7 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Sterling.
Famous Sterlings
- Sterling Price Holloway
American character actor
- (Thomas) Sterling North
American children's novelist
- (Julius) Sterling Morton
American secretary of agriculture; founder of Arbor Day
- Sterling Price
American politician; 11th Governor of Missouri
- Sterling Walter Hayden (born Sterling Relyea Walter)
American actor
- Sterling Kelby Brown
American actor
- Sterling Sandmann Knight
American actor
- Sterling Sharpe
American NFL player
- Sterling Martin Beaumon
American actor
- Sterling Clay Shepard
American NFL player
- Sterling Marlin
American NASCAR driver
- Hayden Sterling Christensen
Canadian actor
- Sterling Tucker
American civil and political rights activist and politician
Sterling in pop culture
- Sterling Malory Archer
character from FX show "Archer."
- Sterling McCormack
character from Australian TV series "All Saints".
- Roger Sterling
of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce on the 1960s set show Mad Men.
- Pound sterling
the currency of the UK.
- Sterling
character in the stories of Kit Kittredge, American Girl Doll
- Sterling
character on the CW show "The 100"
- Sterling
character in DC Universe