STERLING

STERLING. " Esterling, a name given to those Germans who are said to have been the first that brought the art of refining silver into England. Called Esterlings, as having come from the East," Jamieson. See also Richardson. Hence, metaphorically, stei-ling signifies anj'thing pure or unalloyed.

Lower, Mark A (1860) Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom. London: J.R. Smith. Public Domain.