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Stirling

#4,516 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Stream + pool, lake

Stirling has been given to 929 babies in the U.S. since 1912. In 2025 it ranked #4,516 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2015, with 24 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 92% boys, 8% girls all-time.

Babies named Stirling, 2025

1 in 144,000

Stirling over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
010203018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Stirling over time

In 2025, Stirling went to 0% girls and 100% boys.

19122025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Stirling: meaning, origin, and history

Stream + pool, lake

surname transfer

What Stirling means

Stirling means “stream + pool, lake”, associated with srib and linn.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

Borrowed from Middle Scots Stirveling, from Early Scots Strivelin, Strivelyn, likely from Old Irish sreb, srib (“stream”) + linn (“pool, lake”).

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Stirling (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Stirling is used in English. Its origins include surname transfer.

Stirling comes through enm-esc Strivelin and Old Irish sreb.

Stirling is recorded as a surname transferred into given-name use.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Stirling is pronounced /ˈstɝ.lɪŋ/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 851 boys were recorded with the name Stirling between 1912 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 24 in 2015; its best national rank was #1,935 in 1942.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #5,196 in 2020 to #4,516 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #4,272 in 2015 to #4,516 in 2025.

In the United States, 78 girls were recorded with the name Stirling between 1996 and 2024. Its highest annual count was 10 in 1996; its best national rank was #8,742 in 1996.

How common is Stirling?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 144,000
23 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 74,300
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#4,516
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
99,910 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Stirling sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 99,910 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Stirling. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Stirlings were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Stirling was born before 1997 — so the typical Stirling is around 28 today.

Median birth year
1997
About 28 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
20.4% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
43.9%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
693
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 20.4% of all recorded uses (174).

Is Stirling rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+1,628
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
+680
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
−244
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.96×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
95.8%
Peak was 2015 (24)
Years since peak
10
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
22.4% average annual change
Best rank ever
#1,935
1942

Spellings of Stirling

Stirling is not the most common spelling — Sterling is, with 93.5% against Stirling's 2.1%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Stirling is used

Across 1910–2025, Stirling was most concentrated in California — about 1 in — boys, against 1 in 1,452,725 across all states with data.

00 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Stirling has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Stirling around the world

Where Stirling ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1996–2025
    #2,269
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    2025–2025
    #560
    in 2025
  • Canada
    1992–2024
    #1,817
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1944–2013
    #389
    in 2013

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Stirling by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#4,516
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 680
Best rank ever
#1,935
1942
Peak year
2015
24 that year
First recorded
1912
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
851
Count in 2025
23

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#8,742
1996
Peak year
1996
10 that year
First recorded
1996
Last recorded
2024
All-time count
78
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Stirling

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

StarlingStilesBlessingHardingStillmanStivenKiplingManningFieldingPershingReddingGraylingHenningErlingChanningFlemingMikingCharmingLansingErvingAkingLoringStihlStinson

Sibling names for Stirling

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Stirling

Top names of 2015, Stirling's peak yearThe 2010s in fullOther names that peaked in 1942Boys' names starting with S