Terilyn
A feminine name of English origin possibly meaning "from the territorial lands".
Name Census estimates that about 539 living Americans carry the first name Terilyn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Terilyn today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Terilyn births was 1963 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Terilyn. 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
539
~ 1 in 635,908 Americans
Peak year
1963
27 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
2010 SSA rank
#14,816
Tracked since 1946
Popularity
Terilyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Terilyn from the 1940s through to the 2010s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 167 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Terilyn 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 Terilyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Terilyns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Michigan, Utah recorded the most babies named Terilyn, while Utah, Michigan, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 23 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Terilyn
The name Terilyn is a relatively modern English name that emerged in the 20th century. It is thought to be a combination of the names Teri and Lynne, both of which have distinct origins.
Teri is a shortened form of the name Teresa, which derives from the Greek word "therizo" meaning "to harvest." This name gained popularity in honor of St. Teresa of Avila, a 16th-century Spanish nun and mystic who reformed the Carmelite order.
Lynne, on the other hand, is a variant spelling of the name Lynn, which has its roots in the Celtic word "linn" meaning "a pool or waterfall." This name has been used in various forms across Europe since the Middle Ages.
While the name Terilyn itself does not have a long historical record, it reflects the trend of creating new names by blending existing ones, a practice that became increasingly popular in the 20th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Terilyn can be found in the United States in the 1960s. However, it did not gain widespread popularity until later decades.
Notable individuals with the first name Terilyn throughout history are relatively few, as the name is quite modern. However, here are a few examples:
1. Terilyn A. Shropshire (born 1938), American actress and singer known for her roles in musicals and television shows in the 1960s and 1970s.
2. Terilyn Kruger (born 1958), South African-born British actress and model best known for her roles in British television series in the 1980s and 1990s.
3. Terilyn Hancock (born 1961), American basketball player who competed in the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games, winning a gold medal in 1988.
4. Terilyn J. Meyer (born 1975), American attorney and judge who currently serves on the Mississippi Court of Appeals.
5. Terilyn Shropshire (born 1982), American actress and dancer, best known for her roles in Broadway musicals such as The Lion King and Motown: The Musical.
While the name Terilyn is relatively new and not as widely used as some other names, it reflects the creativity and diversity of modern naming practices, combining elements from different linguistic and cultural traditions.
People
Terilyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Terilyn 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
Terilyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Terilyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 539 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Terilyn 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 635,908 US residents.
Is Terilyn a common name?
We classify Terilyn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 622 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Terilyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Terilyn was 1963, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Terilyn is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Terilyn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Terilyn 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.