Terra
A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "earth" or "land".
Name Census estimates that about 14,259 living Americans carry the first name Terra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Terra today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Terra births was 1980 (604 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Terra. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Terra with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
14K
~ 1 in 24,038 Americans
Peak year
1980
604 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
1984 SSA rank
#2,549
Tracked since 1940
Census
Terra in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 13,570 people with the first name Terra, which placed it at #2,019 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
#2,019
National first-name rank
People counted
14K
13,570 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
4.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
73.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Terra
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Terra is White at 73.6%. The next largest groups are Black (13.2%) and Two or More Races (5.5%). 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 Terra 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 Terra at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.6% · 9,986
- Black or African American13.2% · 1,793
- Two or more races5.5% · 746
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 673
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 190
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 182
Gender
Gender distribution for Terra
Out of the 15,358 babies given the name Terra since 1880, 100.0% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Terra as a male name
- Ranked #7,224 in 1984
- 5 male births in 1984
- Peak: 1984 (5 births)
Terra as a female name
- Ranked #2,549 in 2024
- 70 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1980 (604 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Terra appears almost entirely female. Of the 13,575 people counted with this name, 99.4% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Terra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Terra from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 4,766 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Terra 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 Terra during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Terras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 41 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Terra, while New Jersey, Nevada, Alaska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 289 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Terra
The name Terra is derived from the Latin word "terra" which means "earth" or "land". It originated in Ancient Rome, where it was used as a feminine name referring to the Earth or the land.
Terra was the Roman goddess of the earth, fertility, and nature. She was one of the most ancient and revered deities in the Roman pantheon, and her cult was celebrated during the Feriae Sementivae festival in late January and early February, which marked the beginning of the agricultural season.
The name Terra appears in various ancient Roman texts, including the writings of Ovid, Virgil, and Cicero. It is also mentioned in the Bible, where it is used to refer to the Earth or the land.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Terra being used as a personal name dates back to the 4th century AD, when a Roman woman named Terra Quintilla was mentioned in an inscription.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Terra. One of the most famous was Terra Cotta, an Italian Renaissance painter and ceramist who lived from 1470 to 1519. Her innovative techniques in the production of glazed terracotta sculptures and architectural decorations earned her widespread recognition.
Another notable Terra was Terra Treml, a German writer and poet who lived from 1808 to 1892. She was a prominent figure in the Romantic movement and published several collections of poetry that celebrated nature and the beauty of the landscape.
In the 20th century, Terra Ziporyn was an American author and journalist who lived from 1920 to 2007. She wrote extensively on topics related to women's rights, social justice, and political activism.
Terra Friedrichs was a Canadian artist and sculptor who lived from 1936 to 2011. Her works, often made from natural materials like stone and wood, explored themes of nature, spirituality, and the human connection to the Earth.
Another notable figure was Terra Naomi, an American singer-songwriter born in 1982. She gained popularity in the mid-2000s for her unique folk-rock sound and her innovative use of internet platforms for promoting her music.
People
Terra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Terra 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
Terra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Terra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 14,259 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Terra 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 24,038 US residents.
Is Terra a common name?
We classify Terra as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 15,358 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Terra most popular?
The single biggest year for Terra was 1980, when 604 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Terra is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Terra in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 13,570 people with the name Terra, or 4.49 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,019 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 Terra 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 Terra?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Terra appears almost entirely female. Of the 13,575 people counted with this name, 99.4% 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 Terra?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Terra is White at 73.6%. The next largest groups are Black (13.2%) and Two or More Races (5.5%). 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 Terra most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Terra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.6% (9,986 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 Terra in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Terra a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Terra 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 Terra still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Terra 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 Terra 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 many Americans are named Terra?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.