Stirling sits next to 3 phonetic neighbors — Sterling, Starling, and Stuart are the closest matches by sound. Most share Stirling's Scottish cluster, so the rhythm and vowel shape carry across the list.
You searched for names like
"of high quality, excellent"
"the letter Z"
"mountain village; reason of the mountains (Japanese interpretation)"
"large homestead, big village"
"great one"
"supplanter"
"pledge, oath"
"elm tree grove"
"scar"
"of God (via -iel suffix)"
"he who descended, to descend"
"Rowan tree"
"one island, isolated place"
"of the angel, from Angelo's family"
"foot (of Orion)"
"independent, unbranded — named after Samuel Maverick whose cattle w..."
"rye farmer"
"crossing, ford"
"holder of the heel"
"light"
"modern invented name combining Ty- and -jae elements"
Similar sound: These names share phonetic patterns with Stirling — similar vowel sounds, consonant clusters, or rhythm.
Shared roots: Several names on this list have Scottish place name origins, giving them the same cultural heritage as Stirling.
Rhythm: Stirling is a 2-syllable name. Names with the same syllable count tend to feel interchangeable when you're narrowing your list.