By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal
footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.
Where Sterling is most popular
Boys named Sterling per 1,000 boys born in
each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.494 per 1,000.
Strongest in Montana, Alaska, and Nebraska.
Vs national average well below below near national above well above no data
All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Sterling born
2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes
comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.
State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any
state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.
The story of Sterling
Sterling is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #346 in 2025 with 944 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.
Since 1880, 41,197 American babies have been named Sterling, about 91% boys and 9% girls, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2025, when 1,162 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.
The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Sterling stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.
