Terilee
A feminine name possibly a combination of Teri and Lee.
Name Census estimates that about 21 living Americans carry the first name Terilee. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Terilee today is around 67 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Terilee births was 1965 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Terilee. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Terilee is about 67 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Terilees were born before 1969.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Terilee. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
21
~ 1 in 16,321,635 Americans
Peak year
1965
9 babies that year
Average age
67
years old
1965 SSA rank
#4,798
Tracked since 1953
Popularity
Terilee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Terilee from the 1950s through to the 1960s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 15 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Terilee 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 Terilee 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 Terilee
The given name Terilee is a modern, primarily English invention that combines the Hebrew name Teri with the English suffix -lee. Its origins can be traced back to the mid-20th century.
The first part, Teri, is a shortened form of the Hebrew name Teresa, which means "harvester" or "reaper" and ultimately derives from the Greek word therízein, meaning "to harvest." This name was borne by a popular Catholic saint and has been used across various cultures.
The second part, -lee, is a common English suffix often added to names to create a more feminine or diminutive form. It has its roots in Old English and Germanic languages, where it was used as a suffix meaning "meadow" or "clearing."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Terilee can be found in the 1940s. Terilee Lynette Stephens, born in 1943, was an American model and actress who appeared in various television shows and films throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
Another notable Terilee was Terilee Edwards, an American actress and singer born in 1955. She is best known for her role as Vanessa Green in the 1980s sitcom "The Jeffersons."
In the literary world, Terilee Tomkins was a Canadian author and illustrator of children's books, born in 1953. She published several works, including "Butternut's First Trail" and "The Butternut Tree."
Terilee Dawn Perez, born in 1971, was an American professional wrestler who competed under the ring name Terilee. She was active in the late 1990s and early 2000s, primarily in the independent circuit.
Terilee Karin Bullock, born in 1962, was an Australian swimmer who represented her country at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, where she won a silver medal in the 4x100m medley relay.
While the name Terilee is relatively modern and uncommon, it has been borne by individuals across various fields, such as entertainment, literature, sports, and more, leaving a notable impact throughout the latter half of the 20th century.
People
Terilee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Terilee 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
Terilee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Terilee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 21 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Terilee 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 16,321,635 US residents.
Is Terilee a common name?
We classify Terilee as "Very Rare". It ranks above 40.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 28 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Terilee most popular?
The single biggest year for Terilee was 1965, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Terilee is about 67 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Terilee a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Terilee 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.