Tarence
An English variant of the Roman name Terentius of uncertain meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 509 living Americans carry the first name Tarence. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tarence today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tarence births was 1985 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tarence. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
509
~ 1 in 673,388 Americans
Peak year
1985
20 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2011 SSA rank
#10,647
Tracked since 1962
Census
Tarence in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 403 people with the first name Tarence, which placed it at #24,052 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#24,052
National first-name rank
People counted
403
403 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
78.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tarence
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tarence is Black at 78.7%. The next largest groups are White (9.7%) and Two or More Races (5.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Tarence described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Tarence at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American78.7% · 317
- White9.7% · 39
- Two or more races5.7% · 23
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 4
Popularity
Tarence: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tarence from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 151 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tarence by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Tarence during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tarence
The name Tarence is derived from the Latin name Terentius, which itself is derived from the Roman family name Terentius. The name Terentius is thought to have originated from the Etruscan town of Tarracina, located in what is now central Italy. The earliest known use of the name Terentius dates back to ancient Rome, where it was a relatively common name among Roman citizens.
One of the most famous historical figures to bear the name Terentius was the Roman playwright Publius Terentius Afer, better known simply as Terence. Born around 195 BC in Carthage, Terence was a prolific playwright who wrote several comedies that were highly influential in the development of Roman literature. His plays, such as "The Eunuch" and "The Brothers," were widely acclaimed for their wit and insight into human nature.
Another notable figure with the name Terentius was Terentius Maximus, a Roman consul who lived in the 3rd century AD. Terentius Maximus played a significant role in the Roman Empire's military campaigns against the Alemanni, a confederation of Germanic tribes that frequently raided Roman territories along the Rhine River.
In the early Christian era, the name Terentius was sometimes used by Christian martyrs and saints. One such figure was Saint Terentius, a 3rd-century Roman soldier who was executed for his Christian faith during the persecutions under the Roman emperor Decius.
During the Middle Ages, the name Terentius evolved into various forms, including Tarence and Terence. One of the most famous bearers of this name was Terence of Bethlehem, a 12th-century monk and author who wrote a widely-read commentary on the Bible.
In more recent history, the name Tarence has seen occasional use, though it remains relatively uncommon. One notable figure with this spelling of the name was Tarence Ray, an American jazz musician and composer who was born in 1935 and passed away in 1998.
Overall, the name Tarence has a rich history that spans centuries, from its roots in ancient Rome to its occasional use in modern times. While not as widely popular as some other names, it has been borne by a diverse array of individuals, from playwrights and soldiers to monks and musicians.
People
Tarence + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tarence as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Tarence: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tarence?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 509 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tarence going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 673,388 US residents.
Is Tarence a common name?
We classify Tarence as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 537 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tarence most popular?
The single biggest year for Tarence was 1985, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tarence is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tarence in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 403 people with the name Tarence, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,052 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Tarence in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Tarence?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tarence leans strongly male. 401 people counted with this name were male (97.8%), compared with 9 female bearers (2.2%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Tarence?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tarence is Black at 78.7%. The next largest groups are White (9.7%) and Two or More Races (5.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Tarence most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Tarence in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.7% (317 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Tarence in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tarence a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tarence in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Tarence still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tarence in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Tarence can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Tarence?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.