# 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