Terah
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "mountain station" or "delay".
Name Census estimates that about 1,332 living Americans carry the first name Terah. It is a predominantly female name (97.0% of registrations). The average person named Terah today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Terah births was 1985 (65 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Terah. 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
1.3K
~ 1 in 257,323 Americans
Peak year
1985
65 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
1991 SSA rank
#8,140
Tracked since 1955
Gender
Gender distribution for Terah
Terah leans heavily female at 97.0% of total registrations, but 43 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Terah as a male name
- Ranked #8,140 in 1991
- 6 male births in 1991
- Peak: 1978 (6 births)
Terah as a female name
- Ranked #17,892 in 2018
- 5 female births in 2018
- Peak: 1985 (65 births)
Popularity
Terah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Terah from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 502 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
Terah 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 Terah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Terahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Terah, while Michigan, Florida, Oklahoma recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 23 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Terah
The name Terah is of Hebrew origin, derived from the biblical figure Terah, who was the father of the patriarch Abraham. The name is thought to be related to the Hebrew word "torah," meaning "instruction" or "law." It is believed to have been in use as a personal name since ancient times, particularly among the Jewish community.
In the Book of Genesis, Terah is mentioned as the father of Abram (later known as Abraham), Nahor, and Haran. He is described as living in Ur of the Chaldeans, a city in ancient Mesopotamia. According to the biblical account, Terah and his family were instructed by God to leave Ur and travel to the land of Canaan. However, they settled in Haran, where Terah passed away.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Terah are found in the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Old Testament. It is not known if any individuals were specifically named Terah before the biblical figure, but the name likely gained popularity among Hebrew communities due to its association with the patriarch.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals named Terah. One of the earliest recorded was Terah ben Joseph, a 12th-century Jewish scholar and philosopher from Byzantium. Another was Terah ben Elijah, a 15th-century Jewish scholar and commentator from Spain.
In more recent times, Terah was the name of an American composer and music educator who lived from 1895 to 1967. Terah Viehe was born in Indiana and studied at the New England Conservatory of Music. He is known for his contributions to music education and for composing works for band and orchestra.
Another individual named Terah was Terah Stafford, an American baseball player who lived from 1912 to 1986. He played in the Major Leagues as an outfielder for the Chicago White Sox and the St. Louis Browns between 1935 and 1942.
In the field of literature, Terah Davies was a Welsh author and poet who lived from 1849 to 1926. He wrote several works in both English and Welsh, including poetry collections and historical novels.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have borne the name Terah. While not a common name, it has been used across various cultures and time periods, often with connections to its biblical origins and meanings related to instruction and law.
People
Terah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Terah 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
Terah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Terah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,332 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Terah 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 257,323 US residents.
Is Terah a common name?
We classify Terah as "Rare". It ranks above 91.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,416 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Terah most popular?
The single biggest year for Terah was 1985, when 65 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Terah is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Terah a female name?
Yes, 97.0% of people registered as Terah 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.