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. A second source suggests that this was a nickname from a Middle English term for coin: sterling.

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