How common is the last name Sterling?

25,411 people in the United States have the last name Sterling, about 1 in 11,763. It ranks #1,356 of 156,621 last names in the 2020 Census.

last name

STERLING

#1,356

of 156,621 last names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
25,411
About
1 in 11,763
This common or more
43.2%
Who bears it

Of the 25,411 people with the last name Sterling, 60.7% reported their origin as White, 28.2% as Black and 5.6% as Hispanic or Latino. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Either side of Sterling

#1,354 Lott · 25,441#1,355 Shirley · 25,421#1,357 Bland · 25,402#1,358 Hamm · 25,397

Spelled almost the same

4 last names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Sterling, most common first.

#3,628 Starling · 9,541#10,888 Stirling · 2,795#39,333 Starlin · 604#61,734 Sterlin · 351

Also a first name

As a first name, Sterling ranks #1,428 of 53,615, with 23,791 people. As a baby name it peaked in 2025, with 1,162 births. See Sterling as a first name

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