Terrell
A masculine name meaning "wanderer" or "one who travels" in Old French.
Name Census estimates that about 34,012 living Americans carry the first name Terrell. It is a predominantly male name (95.8% of registrations). The average person named Terrell today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Terrell births was 1989 (1,004 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Terrell. 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 Terrell with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Terrell is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 1,585 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
34K
~ 1 in 10,077 Americans
Peak year
1989
1,004 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,495
Tracked since 1885
Census
Terrell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 26,444 people with the first name Terrell, which placed it at #1,351 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
#1,351
National first-name rank
People counted
26K
26,444 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
8.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
72.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Terrell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Terrell is Black at 72.1%. The next largest groups are White (19.4%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Terrell 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 Terrell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American72.1% · 19,072
- White19.4% · 5,133
- Two or more races4.8% · 1,273
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 612
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 281
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 73
Gender
Gender distribution for Terrell
Terrell leans heavily male at 95.8% of total registrations, but 1,585 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Terrell as a male name
- Ranked #1,495 in 2024
- 120 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1989 (983 births)
Terrell as a female name
- Ranked #17,316 in 2008
- 6 female births in 2008
- Peak: 1970 (63 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Terrell leans strongly male. 25,279 people counted with this name were male (95.6%), compared with 1,167 female bearers (4.4%).
Popularity
Terrell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Terrell from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 8,169 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Terrell 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 Terrell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Terrells live
The SSA's state-level files cover 40 states and territories. Illinois, Georgia, New York recorded the most babies named Terrell, while Montana, Iowa, Oregon recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 816 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Terrell
The name Terrell is derived from the Old French word "terrier," which means "landowner" or "farmer." It is closely related to the French word "terre," meaning "earth" or "land." This name originated in the 12th century in France, particularly in the northern regions.
During the Middle Ages, the name Terrell was commonly used to refer to landowners or farmers who worked the land. It was a surname that identified one's occupation or social status. Over time, it transitioned into a given name, particularly in English-speaking countries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Terrell can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landowners and property in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. This historical record includes several references to individuals with the surname Terrell or similar spellings.
In the 13th century, a notable figure named Terrell de Vere was a prominent English nobleman and military commander during the Barons' War against King Henry III. He played a significant role in the events leading up to the signing of the Provisions of Oxford in 1258.
Another historical figure bearing the name Terrell was Terrell the Scribe, a 14th-century English calligrapher and illuminator known for his work on religious manuscripts and documents. His intricate and beautifully decorated works can be found in various collections across Europe.
In the 16th century, Terrell Garrett was an English explorer and navigator who accompanied Sir Walter Raleigh on several expeditions to the Americas. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Roanoke Colony in present-day North Carolina.
During the 17th century, Terrell Parke was a renowned English architect who designed several notable buildings, including the iconic St. Paul's Cathedral in London. His architectural style influenced the development of the English Baroque movement.
In the 19th century, Terrell Edmunds was an African-American abolitionist and civil rights activist who fought against slavery and advocated for equal rights for Black Americans. He was a prominent figure in the Underground Railroad movement, helping countless enslaved individuals escape to freedom.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Terrell
People
Terrell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Terrell 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
Terrell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Terrell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 34,012 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Terrell 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 10,077 US residents.
Is Terrell a common name?
We classify Terrell as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 37,969 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Terrell most popular?
The single biggest year for Terrell was 1989, when 1,004 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Terrell is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Terrell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 26,444 people with the name Terrell, or 8.76 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,351 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 Terrell 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 Terrell?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Terrell leans strongly male. 25,279 people counted with this name were male (95.6%), compared with 1,167 female bearers (4.4%). 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 Terrell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Terrell is Black at 72.1%. The next largest groups are White (19.4%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Terrell most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Terrell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.1% (19,072 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 Terrell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Terrell a male name?
Yes, 95.8% of people registered as Terrell 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.
Is Terrell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Terrell 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 Terrell 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 people have Terrell as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.