Sperling
A surname most often understood as German for “sparrow,” though some English forms may also reflect a patronymic in -ing.
The #7,841 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 73,093 Americans shares it.
Etymology
In German, Sperling means “sparrow,” and the surname is usually taken from that word. The German form is built on a word for “sparrow” plus the common diminutive/collective suffix -ling. English surname writers also noted some forms as an old baptismal or family-name formation in -ing, meaning “son of” or “belonging to,” so the spelling can overlap with a separate English pattern.
History
The name is recorded in both German and English contexts, and 19th-century surname scholars treated it mainly as a Germanic surname meaning “sparrow.” In English records, Bardsley also discussed spellings such as Spirling, Spilling, and Spurling as related forms, sometimes treating them as patronymic. The surname appears in later English and immigrant records, which may reflect both native English development and German immigration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A 19th-century source even gave “sparrow” as the plain meaning of German Sperling, making this one of the more bird-like surnames on record.
From the historical record
“[O.E. fem. agent, suif. -estre'\ SPERLING, v. Sparling. SPERLINGS, Sperling's (Son). SPERRING - Spearing, q.v. SPjCE, meton. for Spicer, q.v, SPICER (A.-Fr.-Lat.) Dealer in Spices [M.E. spicer(e, spycer, A.-Fr. espicer (Fr.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)