Terin
A Scandinavian name meaning "God of thunder and lightning".
Name Census estimates that about 505 living Americans carry the first name Terin. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 65.5% of registrations being female. The average person named Terin today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Terin births was 1982 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Terin. 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
505
~ 1 in 678,721 Americans
Peak year
1982
36 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2006 SSA rank
#7,932
Tracked since 1979
Gender
Gender distribution for Terin
Terin is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 524 total registrations, 181 (34.5%) were male and 343 (65.5%) were female.
Terin as a male name
- Ranked #7,932 in 2006
- 10 male births in 2006
- Peak: 1992 (17 births)
Terin as a female name
- Ranked #18,978 in 2014
- 5 female births in 2014
- Peak: 1982 (31 births)
Popularity
Terin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Terin from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 208 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Terin 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 Terin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Terins live
Origin
Meaning and history of Terin
The given name Terin has its roots in the Celtic languages, tracing back to ancient Brittonic and Gaulish societies. It is believed to derive from the Proto-Celtic word "teri", meaning "to cross over" or "to traverse", potentially referring to a river or other water body. The name may have been used to signify someone who lived near a crossing point or traveled frequently.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Terin comes from ancient Roman inscriptions found in Britain, where it appears as "Terinus". This suggests that the name was in use among the Celtic tribes of the region during the Roman occupation, which lasted from 43 AD to around 410 AD.
In medieval times, the name Terin appeared in various forms in different Celtic languages, such as "Teryn" in Welsh and "Tóirín" in Irish Gaelic. It was borne by several historical figures, including Terin ap Cadwgan, a Welsh prince who lived in the 12th century and was known for his exploits in battles against the Normans.
Another notable bearer of the name Terin was Terin the Bald, a 9th-century Irish monk and scribe who is credited with creating the Book of Armagh, a highly significant medieval manuscript containing the oldest surviving copy of the New Testament written in Latin.
In the 14th century, there was a Scottish nobleman named Terin of Falkland, who served as the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland under King David II. He played a significant role in the Wars of Scottish Independence against England.
During the Renaissance period, a notable figure named Terin Woodville lived in England in the late 15th century. He was a member of the influential Woodville family and served as a courtier under King Edward IV and King Richard III.
More recently, in the 19th century, a French author and playwright named Terin Bourget gained recognition for his plays and novels, including the acclaimed work "Un Divorce" (A Divorce), which explored the societal attitudes towards marriage and divorce in his era.
While the name Terin has fallen out of widespread use in modern times, it remains a part of the rich tapestry of Celtic and European history, carrying echoes of ancient traditions and the stories of notable individuals who bore this distinctive name.
People
Terin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Terin 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
Terin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Terin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 505 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Terin 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 678,721 US residents.
Is Terin a common name?
We classify Terin as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 524 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Terin most popular?
The single biggest year for Terin was 1982, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Terin is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Terin a female name?
Yes, 65.5% of people registered as Terin 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.