Terrace
An elevated level paved area adjoining a building.
Name Census estimates that about 732 living Americans carry the first name Terrace. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 87.0% of registrations being male. The average person named Terrace today is around 49 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Terrace births was 1974 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Terrace. 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
732
~ 1 in 468,244 Americans
Peak year
1974
29 babies that year
Average age
49
years old
2011 SSA rank
#12,120
Tracked since 1943
Gender
Gender distribution for Terrace
Terrace leans heavily male at 87.0% of total registrations, but 107 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Terrace as a male name
- Ranked #12,120 in 2011
- 6 male births in 2011
- Peak: 1980 (28 births)
Terrace as a female name
- Ranked #19,282 in 2012
- 5 female births in 2012
- Peak: 1966 (13 births)
Popularity
Terrace: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Terrace from the 1940s through to the 2010s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 229 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
Terrace 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 Terrace during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Terraces live
Origin
Meaning and history of Terrace
The name Terrace is believed to have originated from the Old French word 'terrace', which means a raised level or platform of earth, typically paved and used as an outdoor living area. This term was derived from the Latin 'terracia', meaning an earth-work or embankment.
In ancient times, terraces were commonly used in architecture and landscaping, particularly in the construction of gardens, fortifications, and public spaces. The name Terrace may have been used as a descriptive term for someone who lived near or worked on a terrace, or perhaps as a surname for someone involved in the construction or maintenance of terraces.
The earliest recorded use of Terrace as a given name is somewhat obscure, but it appears to have emerged in the late Middle Ages or early Renaissance period, possibly as a variant of the more common name Terence or Terrence, which is derived from the Roman name Terentius.
One of the earliest known individuals with the given name Terrace was Terrace Gower, an English landowner and nobleman who lived in the late 15th century. Another notable figure was Terrace Lovell, a courtier and politician who served under King Henry VIII of England in the early 16th century.
During the 17th century, the name Terrace gained some popularity among the Puritan community in England and New England. One prominent bearer was Terrace Ingersoll, a British colonial leader and military officer who played a significant role in the early settlement of Connecticut in the 1630s.
In the 18th century, Terrace became a more common given name, particularly in the American colonies. One notable bearer was Terrace Randolph, a prominent Virginia lawyer and politician who served as the first Attorney General of the United States under President George Washington.
Another individual of note was Terrace MacSwiney, an Irish revolutionary and politician who served as the Lord Mayor of Cork in the early 20th century. He is remembered for his role in the Irish Republican movement and his hunger strike in British custody, which ultimately led to his death in 1920.
While not an extensive list, these examples demonstrate the historical usage of Terrace as a given name, spanning various cultures and time periods, from nobility and political leaders to military figures and revolutionaries.
People
Terrace + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Terrace 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
Terrace: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Terrace?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 732 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Terrace 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 468,244 US residents.
Is Terrace a common name?
We classify Terrace as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 821 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Terrace most popular?
The single biggest year for Terrace was 1974, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Terrace is about 49 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Terrace a male name?
Yes, 87.0% of people registered as Terrace in the SSA data are male. 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.