Meaning and history
From a Scots surname derived from the city of Stirling, whose meaning is unknown, Sterling can also be used with reference to the English word sterling, meaning “excellent.” In that sense, it comes from sterling silver, a term based on the emblem on some Norman coins, ultimately from Old English meaning “little star.”
20062006: 270 births, rank #769
2007: 269 births, rank #800
2008: 245 births, rank #866
2009: 231 births, rank #898
2010: 299 births, rank #755
20112011: 307 births, rank #737
2012: 350 births, rank #675
2013: 441 births, rank #582
2014: 552 births, rank #507
2015: 595 births, rank #493
20162016: 671 births, rank #458
2017: 713 births, rank #433
2018: 783 births, rank #409
2019: 753 births, rank #410
2020: 768 births, rank #399
20212021: 844 births, rank #382
2022: 803 births, rank #397
2023: 792 births, rank #403
2024: 885 births, rank #370
20252025: 944 births, rank #345
Sterling rose from #371 to #346 for boys between 2024 and 2025. That year also produced its highest recorded birth count, at 944.