Given name & surname
Starling
“resembling the bird”
Starling is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “resembling the bird.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “resembling the bird.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Starling through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,226
- 1,001 boys · 225 girls
- Most popular year
- 2023
- 32 babies
- 2025
- 21
- #6,753 for boys · #11,806 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +39%
- Rising
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 13 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 6,753 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 26 in 1920. It also appeared in 8 birth records for girls in 2025. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 845 as a first name in 2020; 9,541 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Starling’s family of names
Starling has a related form in Star. Starling has a related form in Staerling. Starling has a related form in Starlyng.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 6
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
People named Starling
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Starling, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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“wise one; type of spice”
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26% boys · 74% girls
Harley
“from the meadow of the hares”
20% boys · 80% girls
Sutton
“from the southern town”
33% boys · 67% girls