Terrilynn
A feminine name combining the English elements "terre" (earth) and "lynn" (small lake).
Name Census estimates that about 357 living Americans carry the first name Terrilynn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Terrilynn today is around 55 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Terrilynn births was 1961 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Terrilynn. 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
357
~ 1 in 960,096 Americans
Peak year
1961
24 babies that year
Average age
55
years old
2019 SSA rank
#17,728
Tracked since 1946
Census
Terrilynn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 616 people with the first name Terrilynn, which placed it at #17,727 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
#17,727
National first-name rank
People counted
616
616 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
67.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Terrilynn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Terrilynn is White at 67.7%. The next largest groups are Black (17.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.7%). 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 Terrilynn 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 Terrilynn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.7% · 417
- Black or African American17.9% · 110
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.7% · 29
- Two or more races3.7% · 23
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.9% · 18
Popularity
Terrilynn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Terrilynn 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 164 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
Terrilynn 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 Terrilynn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Terrilynns live
Origin
Meaning and history of Terrilynn
The name Terrilynn is a modern composite name that combines the English name Terri with the suffix -lynn, which has its origins in the old Celtic language of Brittonic. The name Terri itself is a shortened form of the feminine name Theresa, derived from the Greek Theresia, meaning "harvester."
The suffix -lynn is believed to have originated from the Welsh word "llyn," meaning "lake" or "pool." It was commonly used as a suffix in names in various Celtic cultures, such as the Scottish Gaelic name Evelynn or the Irish name Caitlynn. The combination of Terri and -lynn creates a name that blends English and Celtic influences.
While there are no known historical references to the specific name Terrilynn in ancient texts or religious scriptures, the name's components have their own rich histories. The name Theresa has been borne by several notable figures throughout history, including St. Theresa of Avila (1515-1582), a Spanish mystic and reformer of the Carmelite Order.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Terrilynn can be traced back to the late 20th century in the United States. However, it is important to note that due to the composite nature of the name, it may have been used sporadically before gaining wider popularity.
Several notable individuals have borne the name Terrilynn throughout history:
1. Terrilynn Daye (born 1961), an American former professional basketball player who played in the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL) and the American Basketball Association (ABA).
2. Terrilynn Monette (born 1985), an American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 2016 to 2020.
3. Terrilynn Lyn (born 1966), an American actress and model best known for her role in the 1980s television series "The Jeffersons."
4. Terrilynn St. John (born 1954), an American actress and singer who appeared in several television shows and films in the 1970s and 1980s.
5. Terrilynn Shavlik (born 1955), an American former professional tennis player who reached a career-high ranking of No. 15 in the world in 1977.
While the name Terrilynn is a relatively modern creation, its components have deep roots in various cultures, reflecting the diverse influences that have shaped the English language and naming traditions over time.
People
Terrilynn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Terrilynn 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
Terrilynn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Terrilynn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 357 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Terrilynn 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 960,096 US residents.
Is Terrilynn a common name?
We classify Terrilynn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 424 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Terrilynn most popular?
The single biggest year for Terrilynn was 1961, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Terrilynn is about 55 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Terrilynn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 616 people with the name Terrilynn, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,727 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 Terrilynn 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 Terrilynn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Terrilynn appears almost entirely female. Of the 618 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Terrilynn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Terrilynn is White at 67.7%. The next largest groups are Black (17.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.7%). 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 Terrilynn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Terrilynn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.7% (417 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 Terrilynn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Terrilynn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Terrilynn 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 Terrilynn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Terrilynn 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 Terrilynn 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 are called Terrilynn?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Terrilynn at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.