Boy
Sterling
As a boy's name, Sterling is understood to mean "little star; or of high quality (as in sterling silver)". It settled in after its 1990s peak and has held its ground ever since. Today, it is comfortably in the mainstream in the registry. Its single strongest year on record was 2017.
Middle EnglishMiddle English
EtymologyMeaning "little star"; or "of high quality" (as in sterling silver)
Births by decade
1900s
352
1910s
1,622
1920s
2,580
1930s
1,930
1940s
2,383
1950s
2,596
1960s
2,545
1970s
2,184
1980s
3,223
1990s
5,279
2000s
3,573
2010s
4,601
Peaked in the 1990s · 32,868 total U.S. births since 1900