Starling is a
given name
A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...
and a
surname
In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...
. According to one source, the surname arose in
Old English
Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
as a
nickname
A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...
related to the bird,
starling
Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine (perching) birds known for the often dark, glossy iridescent sheen of their plumage; their complex vocalizations including mimicking; and their distinctive, often elaborate swarming behavior, know ...
, but the author speculates "it is hard to see ''why''". Another source puts the surname into a list of "surnames derived from birds".
Notable people with the name
;Given name
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Starling Marte (born 1988), professional athlete
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Starling Thomas V (born 2000), American football player
;Surname
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Alan Starling (born 1951), English footballer
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Avril Starling (born 1953), English cricketer
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Boris Starling
Boris Starling (born 1969)Sohn, Amy (1999) "GETTING A HANDLE ON HOT 'MESSIAH' SCRIBE", ''New York Post'', 7 September 1999, p. 22, ("at 30 he's already been on endless European best-seller lists") is a British novelist, screenwriter and newspaper ...
(born 1969), English writer
*
Bubba Starling (born 1992), American baseball player
*
Ernest Starling
Ernest Henry Starling (17 April 1866 – 2 May 1927) was a British physiologist who contributed many fundamental ideas to this subject. These ideas were important parts of the British contribution to physiology, which at that time led the world. ...
(1866-1927), English physiologist
*
Geoff Starling (born 1952), Australian rugby league player
*
Hannah Starling (born 1995), British diver
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John Henry Starling
John Henry Starling, (15 January 1883 – 5 April 1966) was the official secretary to the Governor-General of Australia from 1919 to 1927, serving Sir Ronald Munro Ferguson, Lord Forster and Lord Stonehaven.
Career
Having originally lived i ...
(1883–1966), Australian public servant
*
Josh Starling (born 1990), Australian Rugby League player
*
Kristy Starling
Kristy Starling is a contemporary Christian music singing, singer, born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. After marrying husband Adam Starling in late 2002, she came second in a national singing competition, ''Today's Superstar'', NBC News' morning sh ...
(contemporary), a Contemporary Christian Music singer
*
Paul Starling (born 1948), Australian karateka
*
Ronnie Starling (1909–1991), English footballer
*
Simon Starling
Simon Starling (born 1967) is an English Neo-conceptual art, conceptual artist and won the Turner Prize in 2005.
Early life
Simon Starling was born in 1967 in Epsom, Surrey. He studied photography and art at Maidstone College of Art from 1986 to ...
(born 1967), English artist
Fictional characters
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Clarice Starling
Clarice M. Starling is a fictional character and protagonist of the novels '' The Silence of the Lambs'' (1988) and ''Hannibal'' (1999) by Thomas Harris.
In the 1991 film adaptation of ''The Silence of the Lambs'', she was played by Jodie Foster ...
, a main character in the novels and films ''The Silence of the Lambs'' and ''Hannibal''
* Juliet, Cordelia, and Rosalind Starling, from Suda 51's hack-and-slash zombie game ''
Lollipop Chainsaw''
* Robyn Starling, one of the main characters from the 1993 animated film ''
Tom and Jerry: The Movie''
See also
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Sterling (given name)
*
Sterling (surname)
References
{{given name, type=both, Starling
Given names derived from animals
Given names derived from birds