Terril
From an Old English surname meaning "a boundary line or field enclosure".
Name Census estimates that about 454 living Americans carry the first name Terril. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 86.1% of registrations being male. The average person named Terril today is around 59 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Terril births was 1948 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Terril. 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
454
~ 1 in 754,966 Americans
Peak year
1948
22 babies that year
Average age
59
years old
2001 SSA rank
#5,843
Tracked since 1932
Census
Terril in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 599 people with the first name Terril, which placed it at #18,098 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
#18,098
National first-name rank
People counted
599
599 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
69.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Terril
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Terril is White at 69.1%. The next largest groups are Black (23.7%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Terril 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 Terril at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.1% · 414
- Black or African American23.7% · 142
- Two or more races4.3% · 26
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino1.2% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Terril
Terril leans heavily male at 86.1% of total registrations, but 83 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Terril as a male name
- Ranked #12,139 in 2001
- 5 male births in 2001
- Peak: 1945 (16 births)
Terril as a female name
- Ranked #5,843 in 1963
- 7 female births in 1963
- Peak: 1948 (8 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Terril on both sides of the split. Of the 595 people counted with this name, 445 were male (74.8%) and 150 were female (25.2%).
Popularity
Terril: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Terril from the 1930s through to the 2000s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 141 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Terril 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 Terril during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Terrils live
Origin
Meaning and history of Terril
The name Terril has its origins in the ancient Gaelic language, originating from the region now known as Ireland. It is believed to have emerged during the medieval period, around the 8th or 9th century AD. The name is derived from the Gaelic word "tir", meaning "land" or "territory", and is thought to have been used as a surname initially, referring to someone who owned or resided on a particular piece of land.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Terril can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a historical chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the 17th century. It mentions a "Terril O'Connor", who was a chieftain of the O'Connor clan in the 12th century. This suggests that the name was already in use as a given name by that time.
In the 13th century, a notable figure named Terril MacCarthy was recorded as a military leader during the Norman invasion of Ireland. He played a significant role in the resistance against the Norman forces, fighting to protect the lands of his clan.
Fast forward to the 16th century, and we find Terril O'Brien, a renowned Irish poet and scholar. Born in 1551, O'Brien was a prolific writer who composed numerous works in the Gaelic language, preserving and promoting the rich literary tradition of Ireland.
In the 19th century, Terril Loring was a prominent American architect who designed several notable buildings in the Boston area, including the Boston Public Library and the Arlington Street Church. He was born in 1821 and his architectural works left a lasting impact on the city's landscape.
Another notable figure with the name Terril was Terril Calder, an American sculptor and artist born in 1911. He was known for his abstract and kinetic sculptures, and his works were displayed in numerous galleries and museums around the world. Calder's innovative approach to sculpture earned him widespread recognition in the art world.
While the name Terril has its roots in ancient Gaelic culture, it has since been adopted and used across various regions and time periods. These examples illustrate the diverse backgrounds and accomplishments of individuals who have borne this name throughout history.
People
Terril + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Terril 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
Terril: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Terril?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 454 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Terril 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 754,966 US residents.
Is Terril a common name?
We classify Terril as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 596 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Terril most popular?
The single biggest year for Terril was 1948, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Terril is about 59 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Terril in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 599 people with the name Terril, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,098 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 Terril 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 Terril?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Terril on both sides of the split. Of the 595 people counted with this name, 445 were male (74.8%) and 150 were female (25.2%). 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 Terril?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Terril is White at 69.1%. The next largest groups are Black (23.7%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Terril most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Terril in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.1% (414 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 Terril in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Terril a male name?
Yes, 86.1% of people registered as Terril 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 Terril still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Terril 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 Terril 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 Terril as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.