Sterling (surname)

Sterling is an English surname. One source attributes this surname to a contraction of Easterling, "a name given to Hanse merchants" and nothing more than a compass point-associated name. ^[1] A second source suggests that this was a nickname from a Middle English term for coin: sterling. ^[2]

Notable people with the surname include:

• Aljamain Sterling (born 1989), American mixed martial arts fighter
• Alton Sterling (1979–2016), African-American man fatally shot by police
• Andrew B. Sterling (1874–1955), American lyricist
• Anne Fausto-Sterling (born 1944), American sexologist
• Antoinette Sterling (1850–1904), Anglo-American vocalist
• Barry Sterling (1943–2014), American businessman and politician
• Brett Sterling (born 1984), American ice hockey player
• Bruce Sterling (born 1954), American author, speaker and futurist
• Bruce Foster Sterling (1870–1945), American politician
• Christopher H. Sterling (1943–2023), American professor of media and public affairs
• Claire Sterling (1919-1995), American author and journalist
• Debbie Sterling, founder and CEO of American toy company Goldieblox
• Donald Sterling (born 1934), American businessman, attorney and basketball team owner
• Donnie Sterling, American bassist
• Edward Sterling (1773–1847), British journalist
• Edward Boker Sterling (1851-1925), philatelist of Trenton, New Jersey
• Elizabeth Sterling Haynes (1897–1957), Canadian theatre activist, née Sterling
• Ford Sterling (1883–1939), American actor
• Fred E. Sterling (1869-1934), American politician
• George Sterling (1869–1926), American poet
• Georgie Sterling, Australian actress
• H. J. Sterling (1882–1959), Canadian ice hockey administrator
• James Stephanie Sterling (born 1984), English video game journalist and reviewer
• Jan Sterling (1921–2004), American actress
• Jeffrey Sterling, Baron Sterling of Plaistow (born 1934), British peer and former chairman of P&O
• John Sterling (author) (1806–1844), British author
• John Sterling (baseball) (1865–1908), American baseball player
• John Sterling (sportscaster) (born 1938), American radio broadcaster
• John William Sterling (1844–1918), American philanthropist, corporate attorney, and benefactor to Yale University
• Leon Sterling, Australian computer scientist
• Lester Sterling (1936–2023), Jamaican musician
• Linder Sterling (born 1954), British artist
• Mindy Sterling (born 1953), American actress
• Nici Sterling (born 1968), British porn star
• Norm Sterling (born 1942), Canadian politician
• Peter Sterling (born 1940), American neuroscientist
• Peter Sterling (born 1960), Australian rugby league player
• Raheem Sterling (born 1994), English footballer
• Robert Sterling (1917-2006), American actor
• Ross S. Sterling (1875–1949), American politician
• Thomas Sterling (1851–1930), American politician
• Thomas Sterling (computing), American computer scientist
• Tisha Sterling (born 1944), American actress, daughter of Robert Sterling and Ann Sothern
• Wallace Sterling (1906–1985), Canadian-born American university president
• William T. Sterling (1808–1903), American politician

Fictional Sterlings

• Bruce Sterling (Love of Life), American television soap opera character (1959 to 1980)
• Jim Sterling, character on the American TV series Leverage
• Scott Sterling (fictional), soccer/volleyball player from a pair of online viral videos by Studio C.
• Roger Sterling from Mad Men.
• Dana Sterling, fictional character from American TV series RoboTech

See also

• Stirling (surname)
• Starling (name)

References

1. Weekley, Ernest (1914). The Romance of Names. London: John Murray. p. 97 – via Internet Archive.
2. Harrison, Henry (1918). Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary. Vol. 2. Assisted by Gyᵭa Harrison; text provided by Cornell University Library. London: London : Eaton Press. p. 189. Retrieved 3 October 2020– via Internet Archive.