Terika
A feminine name of Norse origin meaning "power", "strength", or "ruler".
Name Census estimates that about 604 living Americans carry the first name Terika. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Terika today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Terika births was 1991 (46 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Terika. 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
604
~ 1 in 567,474 Americans
Peak year
1991
46 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
2009 SSA rank
#19,955
Tracked since 1970
Census
Terika in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 521 people with the first name Terika, which placed it at #19,995 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
#19,995
National first-name rank
People counted
521
521 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
86.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Terika
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Terika is Black at 86.4%. The next largest groups are White (8.1%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Terika 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 Terika at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American86.4% · 450
- White8.1% · 42
- Two or more races3.6% · 19
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 5
Popularity
Terika: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Terika from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 263 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
Terika 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 Terika during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Terikas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Florida, Georgia, Texas recorded the most babies named Terika, while North Carolina, Louisiana, Tennessee recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 11 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Terika
The name Terika is believed to have originated from the ancient Germanic language, with its roots traced back to the 5th century CE. It is derived from the Proto-Germanic word "þeuriskas," which means "people" or "tribe." This name was commonly used among the various Germanic tribes that inhabited central and northern Europe during that period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Terika can be found in the Codex Argenteus, a 6th-century manuscript containing a translation of the Bible into the Gothic language. In this text, the name appears as "Þeurika," referring to a character mentioned in the Book of Revelation.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Terika gained popularity across various regions of Europe, particularly in areas with strong Germanic cultural influences. It was often associated with individuals of noble or influential backgrounds, as evidenced by several historical records and chronicles from that time.
One notable figure bearing the name Terika was a Frankish noblewoman who lived in the 8th century CE. She was the wife of Charlemagne, the renowned King of the Franks and the first Holy Roman Emperor. Her influence and support played a significant role in Charlemagne's reign and the spread of Christianity throughout Western Europe.
In the 11th century, Terika of Merania, a Bavarian princess, gained recognition for her role in the Crusades. She accompanied her husband, Duke Leopold VI of Austria, on the Third Crusade and is known for her acts of bravery and leadership during the campaign.
Another prominent individual named Terika was a 12th-century Dutch scholar and philosopher. She is credited with contributing to the intellectual revival of the High Middle Ages and played a crucial role in the development of scholastic thought and the study of Aristotelian philosophy.
During the Renaissance period, Terika Borgia, an Italian noblewoman from the influential Borgia family, left her mark on history. She was known for her patronage of the arts and her support for various cultural and intellectual endeavors during the 15th century.
In the 16th century, Terika von Bora, a former nun and the wife of Martin Luther, the influential German reformer, played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation. She is remembered for her unwavering support of Luther's teachings and her contributions to the establishment of Protestantism as a major religious movement.
People
Terika + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Terika 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
Terika: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Terika?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 604 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Terika 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 567,474 US residents.
Is Terika a common name?
We classify Terika as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 638 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Terika most popular?
The single biggest year for Terika was 1991, when 46 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Terika 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 Terika in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 521 people with the name Terika, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,995 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 Terika 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 Terika?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Terika appears almost entirely female. Of the 521 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Terika?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Terika is Black at 86.4%. The next largest groups are White (8.1%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Terika most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Terika in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.4% (450 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 Terika in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Terika a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Terika 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.
Is Terika still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Terika 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 Terika 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 Terika?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.