Sterling

maleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Sterling: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Sterling: Recorded since 1997, its highest recorded position is #1,104, and it stood at #1,595 in 2024.

1registrar recorded it
24times a registrar ranked it
28years from first to last
#1104highest recorded position
4groupings it qualifies for

Region

Trend unknown

among girls in England and Wales · 2021

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
2021	#5581

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

Trend unknownEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among boys in England and Wales in 23 of the 28 years from 1997 to 2024.

Official data for England and Wales, 1997–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1997
First recorded at #2337 among boys in England and Wales in 1997 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
England and Wales · Boys
Highest recorded1997–2024
Highest recorded position: #1104 among boys in England and Wales, in 2022 (recorded 1997–2024).
England and Wales · Boys
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #1595 among boys in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Boys

Sterling by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Sterling in England and Wales · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	13	3 of 10	4
2000s	28	5 of 10	6
2010s	108	10 of 10	11
2020sbusiest	112	5 of 10	22

Across England and Wales · Boys, the 2020s were its busiest decade — the 5 years of it this list covers, averaging 22 births a year.

See the names England and Waleshas recorded the most births with →

Sterling appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Recorded in official data for England and Wales from 1997 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #1104 in England and Wales in 2022.

Sterling's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2024	England and Wales	male	#1595	16	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	male	#1207	23	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	male	#1104	25	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	female	#5581	3	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	male	#1139	24	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	male	#1111	24	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	male	#1369	18	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#1991	11	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	male	#1398	18	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#1431	18	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	male	#2020	11	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#2964	6	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#2954	6	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	male	#2458	8	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	male	#3300	5	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#2629	7	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#1885	10	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#4052	3	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#2418	6	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#2470	5	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	male	#2501	4	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#1850	6	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#2901	3	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#2337	4	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 1 registrar between 1997 and 2024, ranked in 23 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #1,104, first reached in 2022.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 25 births, registered in England and Wales in 2022.

Its record falls into 4 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 2 years.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

4decades with a ranked yearRecorded in 4 decades →
15 yearslongest unbroken run of ranked years10 to 19 unbroken years →
4separate stretches the record falls into4 separate stretches →
2 yearslongest absence inside the recorded period2 to 3 years missing →
#1,595position in 2024, its most recent recorded year
25births registered in its largest year, 202225 to 49 births →

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Stephanie · #5, 72y
Stephen · #3, 78y
Steve · #242, 70y
Steven · #12, 75y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 1 registrar, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Keya · #1104, 28y
Miraj · #1104, 26y
Sheik · #1104, 24y
Younus · #1104, 23y

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1990 and 1999.

Keya · #1104, 28y
Miraj · #1104, 26y
Sheik · #1104, 24y
Younus · #1104, 23y

Sterling and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Sterling without appearing here.

Sterling moved ahead of

Maddison Compare
In 2006 they stood at #4052 and #3385 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2007 that had become #1885 and #4333.
Malin Compare
In 2006 they stood at #4052 and #3385 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2007 that had become #1885 and #4333.
Erin Compare
In 2011 they stood at #3300 and #2892 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2012 that had become #2458 and #4805.
Rodney Compare
In 2011 they stood at #3300 and #2613 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2012 that had become #2458 and #4805.

Moved ahead of Sterling

Mathias Compare
In 2009 they stood at #1885 and #2211 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2010 that had become #2629 and #1620.
Kasper Compare
In 2004 they stood at #2470 and #2857 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2005 that had become #2418 and #1617.
Arlo Compare
In 1999 they stood at #1850 and #2943 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2000 that had become #2501 and #2142.
Leif Compare
In 2021 they stood at #1139 and #1782 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2022 that had become #1104 and #967.

Moved the opposite way to Sterling

Andrea Compare
Between 1998 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Sterling went from #2901 to #1595 while Andrea went from #1263 to #1859.
Aria Compare
Between 1998 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Sterling went from #2901 to #1595 while Aria went from #2419 to #4270.
Garry Compare
Between 1997 and 2023 in England and Wales · Boys, Sterling went from #2337 to #1207 while Garry went from #914 to #4991.
Graeme Compare
Between 1997 and 2023 in England and Wales · Boys, Sterling went from #2337 to #1207 while Graeme went from #874 to #4107.

Moved the same way as Sterling

Aksel Compare
Between 2006 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Sterling went from #4052 to #1595 and Aksel from #4052 to #1132.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Recorded in official data for England and Wales from 1997 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #1104 in England and Wales in 2022. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Sterling

Sterling at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Sterling by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Sterling appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Sterling and the names beside it

Sterling moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Sterling

Moved the opposite way to Sterling

Moved the same way as Sterling

Sterling at a glance

Sterling by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Sterling appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Sterling and the names beside it

Sterling moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Sterling

Moved the opposite way to Sterling

Moved the same way as Sterling