Tarrence
Of English origin, meaning uncertain but possibly derived from town name.
Name Census estimates that about 754 living Americans carry the first name Tarrence. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tarrence today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tarrence births was 1978 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tarrence. 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
754
~ 1 in 454,581 Americans
Peak year
1978
27 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
2019 SSA rank
#13,907
Tracked since 1962
Census
Tarrence in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 525 people with the first name Tarrence, which placed it at #19,901 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
#19,901
National first-name rank
People counted
525
525 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
80.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tarrence
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tarrence is Black at 80.2%. The next largest groups are White (12.6%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Tarrence 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 Tarrence at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American80.2% · 421
- White12.6% · 66
- Two or more races4.2% · 22
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Popularity
Tarrence: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tarrence from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 212 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tarrence 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 Tarrence during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tarrences live
Origin
Meaning and history of Tarrence
The name Tarrence is believed to have originated from the ancient Roman name Terentius, which was derived from the Latin word "terere," meaning "to rub" or "to wear away." This name was likely given to individuals who worked in professions related to textile production or as a reference to their perseverance and endurance.
During the Roman Empire, the name Terentius was borne by several notable figures, including the renowned playwright Publius Terentius Afer, who lived from around 195-159 BC. His comedies, such as "The Eunuch" and "The Brothers," have had a lasting influence on Western literature and theatre.
As the Roman Empire expanded, the name Terentius spread across Europe and underwent various transformations in spelling and pronunciation. One of the earliest recorded variants of the name was Tarrance, which appeared in medieval English records from the 12th century.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Tarrence or its variants. One of the earliest was Tarrance of Bayeux, a Norman nobleman who fought alongside William the Conqueror in the Battle of Hastings in 1066. He later became a prominent landowner in England.
Another significant figure was Tarrance Nevill, a 15th-century English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor of England under King Henry VI. He played a crucial role in mediating disputes between the Houses of Lancaster and York during the Wars of the Roses.
In the realm of literature, Tarrence Hayes was an acclaimed African American poet and educator born in 1971. He won the National Book Award for Poetry in 2010 for his collection "Lighthead" and has been celebrated for his innovative poetic style and exploration of themes of identity and race.
In the world of sports, Tarrence Kinsey was a professional basketball player from the United States, born in 1983. He played in the NBA for several teams, including the Memphis Grizzlies and the Cleveland Cavaliers, and was known for his defensive skills and versatility on the court.
Lastly, Tarrence Damien Thompson, born in 1976, is a Canadian actor and singer best known for his roles in television series such as "Riverdale" and "The Originals." He has also released several albums and has been recognized for his contributions to both the entertainment and music industries.
People
Tarrence + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tarrence 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
Tarrence: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tarrence?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 754 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tarrence 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 454,581 US residents.
Is Tarrence a common name?
We classify Tarrence as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 793 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tarrence most popular?
The single biggest year for Tarrence was 1978, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tarrence is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tarrence in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 525 people with the name Tarrence, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,901 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 Tarrence 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 Tarrence?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tarrence appears almost entirely male. Of the 525 people counted with this name, 99.4% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Tarrence?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tarrence is Black at 80.2%. The next largest groups are White (12.6%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Tarrence most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Tarrence in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.2% (421 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 Tarrence in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tarrence a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tarrence 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 Tarrence still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tarrence 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 Tarrence 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 common is the name Tarrence?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.