Tera
Derived from Latin, meaning "earth" or "world".
Name Census estimates that about 8,857 living Americans carry the first name Tera. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tera today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tera births was 1984 (416 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tera. 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
8.9K
~ 1 in 38,699 Americans
Peak year
1984
416 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,016
Tracked since 1885
Popularity
Tera: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tera from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 3,574 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
Tera 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 Tera during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Teras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 41 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Tera, while Nevada, District of Columbia, New Mexico recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 171 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tera
The name Tera is believed to have originated from the Sanskrit language, which is one of the oldest Indo-Aryan languages spoken in ancient India. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "tara," which means "star" or "protector." This name has been in use for centuries and has been popular across various cultures and regions.
In Hindu mythology, Tara is the name of a prominent goddess who is revered as the embodiment of compassion and the remover of fears. She is often depicted as a beautiful woman seated on a lotus flower, holding a lotus in one hand and making the gesture of bestowing blessings with the other. The worship of Goddess Tara is particularly popular in Buddhist traditions, where she is considered a female Buddha or enlightened being.
One of the earliest references to the name Tera can be found in the ancient Hindu text, the Mahabharata, which dates back to the 8th or 9th century BCE. In this epic, Tara is mentioned as the name of a celestial nymph who was desired by many gods and sages.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Tera. One of the earliest recorded examples is Tera Panth, a 15th-century Indian poet and philosopher who founded the Tera Panth sect of Hinduism. Another prominent figure is Tera Singh Samundari (1822-1892), a Sikh warrior and leader who played a significant role in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the British East India Company.
In more recent times, the name Tera has been used across various cultures and nationalities. Tera Fabian (born 1982) is a German singer and songwriter known for her participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. Tera Kaia Horne (born 1991) is an American actress and model, best known for her role in the HBO series "Westworld."
Tera Patrick (born 1976) is an American former adult film actress and model who has also ventured into mainstream media, appearing in various television shows and films. Tera Moray (born 1988) is a Canadian actress and singer, known for her roles in television series like "iZombie" and "Supernatural."
While the name Tera has its roots in ancient Sanskrit and Hindu mythology, it has transcended cultural boundaries and gained popularity worldwide, with individuals from various backgrounds and nationalities bearing this name.
People
Tera + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tera 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
Tera: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tera?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 8,857 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tera 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 38,699 US residents.
Is Tera a common name?
We classify Tera as "Rare". It ranks above 97.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 9,918 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tera most popular?
The single biggest year for Tera was 1984, when 416 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tera is about 43 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Tera a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tera in the SSA data are female. 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.
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.