Terrilyn
Feminine name combining "Terry" (from the French territory) and "lyn" (meadow).
Name Census estimates that about 776 living Americans carry the first name Terrilyn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Terrilyn today is around 55 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Terrilyn births was 1958 (60 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Terrilyn. 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
776
~ 1 in 441,694 Americans
Peak year
1958
60 babies that year
Average age
55
years old
2011 SSA rank
#19,359
Tracked since 1946
Popularity
Terrilyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Terrilyn from the 1940s through to the 2010s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 286 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Terrilyn 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 Terrilyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Terrilyns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. Louisiana, Michigan, Texas recorded the most babies named Terrilyn, while New York, Mississippi, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 11 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Terrilyn
The name Terrilyn is a modern invented name that emerged in the 20th century. It is a combination of the English name Terri, which is a diminutive or nickname form of the feminine name Teresa, and the suffix -lyn, which is a common ending for English feminine names.
Teresa itself is derived from the Greek name Theresia, which comes from the Greek word "therizo" meaning "to harvest" or "to reap." The name Teresa has been in use since the Middle Ages and is associated with St. Teresa of Avila, a 16th-century Spanish mystic and reformer of the Carmelite Order.
The suffix -lyn is believed to have originated from the Old English word "lind," meaning "lime tree" or "linden tree." It became a popular ending for English feminine names, particularly in the 20th century, when names like Carolyn, Gwendolyn, and Marilyn gained popularity.
While the name Terrilyn does not have a long historical lineage, it reflects the trend of creating new names by combining existing name elements or adding popular suffixes to established names. This practice became more prevalent in the 20th century as parents sought to give their children unique and distinctive names.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Terrilyn can be found in the 1940s and 1950s in the United States. However, it was not a widely used name until the latter half of the 20th century.
Some notable individuals with the first name Terrilyn include:
1. Terrilyn Monette (born 1966), an American country music singer and songwriter.
2. Terrilyn Rivers (born 1956), an American former basketball player who competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics.
3. Terrilyn Kunopaski (born 1963), a Canadian former volleyball player and coach.
4. Terrilyn Van Gelder (born 1958), an American former professional tennis player.
5. Terrilyn Teel (born 1950), an American politician who served in the Missouri House of Representatives.
While the name Terrilyn is relatively modern and lacks a deep historical lineage, it reflects the creativity and individuality that characterized naming practices in the 20th century, as parents sought to give their children unique and distinctive names.
People
Terrilyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Terrilyn 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
Terrilyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Terrilyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 776 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Terrilyn 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 441,694 US residents.
Is Terrilyn a common name?
We classify Terrilyn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 930 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Terrilyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Terrilyn was 1958, when 60 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Terrilyn is about 55 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Terrilyn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Terrilyn 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.