Sterling

boys’ nameAt its peakCompare

Sterling is ranked 372nd among boys in 2024 (880 births). Its best rank was 308th, in 1895.

Rank in 2024: #372up 31 from 2023
Births in 2024: 8800.05% of boys
Peak year: 2024880 births
Best rank: #308in 1895
Since 1880: 40,025people given the name

Babies named Sterling, by year of birthboys

The story in the numbers

36,521 boys have been named Sterling in the United States since 1880, according to Social Security records. The busiest single year was 2024, with 880 births.

It has never been more used than now: its record year is 2024, within the last few years of data.

Half of everyone given the name was born by 1987, and the 2010s alone account for 15%. It has spent 145 of 145 years in the top 1,000.

It is overwhelmingly a boy’s name: 3,504 girls have also been given it, 8.8% of the total.

Rank among boys, year by year

Higher on the chart = more popularrank (gaps = outside the top 1,000)

By decade

Decade	boys named Sterling
1880s	168
1890s	233
1900s	352
1910s	1,608
1920s	2,533
1930s	1,904
1940s	2,334
1950s	2,570
1960s	2,496
1970s	2,072
1980s	2,967
1990s	4,709
2000s	3,027
2010s	5,463
2020s	4,085

In 2024, its biggest year

Sterling was the 372nd most given boy’s name that year. The top five boys’ names of 2024 were Liam, Noah, Oliver, Theodore and James. See all of 2024.

Names that rose and fell with Sterling

Same sex, most similar popularity curve over 145 years, in five-year steps — the shape of the line, not the size.

What this page does not tell you. The Social Security data records how many babies were given a name, not what the name means or where it comes from — so neither do we. Counts cover people with a Social Security number; names given to fewer than five babies in a year are withheld. More on the data.