Terris
A French masculine name of unknown meaning or origin.
Name Census estimates that about 881 living Americans carry the first name Terris. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 85.4% of registrations being male. The average person named Terris today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Terris births was 1979 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Terris. 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
881
~ 1 in 389,051 Americans
Peak year
1979
29 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
2017 SSA rank
#10,652
Tracked since 1945
Census
Terris in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 874 people with the first name Terris, which placed it at #13,712 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
#13,712
National first-name rank
People counted
874
874 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
66.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Terris
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Terris is Black at 66.5%. The next largest groups are White (26.4%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Terris 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 Terris at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American66.5% · 581
- White26.4% · 231
- Two or more races3.8% · 33
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 5
Gender
Gender distribution for Terris
Terris leans heavily male at 85.4% of total registrations, but 143 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Terris as a male name
- Ranked #10,652 in 2017
- 7 male births in 2017
- Peak: 1970 (27 births)
Terris as a female name
- Ranked #17,113 in 2009
- 6 female births in 2009
- Peak: 1964 (9 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Terris on both sides of the split. Of the 871 people counted with this name, 658 were male (75.5%) and 213 were female (24.5%).
Popularity
Terris: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Terris 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 211 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
Terris 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 Terris during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Terris' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Terris
The name Terris is believed to have originated from the ancient Greek word "terra," meaning "earth" or "land." This suggests that the name may have been derived from an occupation or location associated with the land, such as a farmer, landowner, or someone residing in a particular region.
Historically, the name Terris can be traced back to the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations, where it was likely used as a personal name or surname. However, records from that era are scarce, and it is difficult to pinpoint the exact origin and early usage of the name.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Terris can be found in the writings of the Roman historian Tacitus, who lived from around 56 AD to 120 AD. In his work, Tacitus mentioned a Roman soldier named Terris who fought bravely during the Roman conquest of Britain in the first century AD.
In the Middle Ages, the name Terris appears to have been used primarily in regions of Europe influenced by Greek and Roman cultures, such as Italy, France, and Spain. During this period, the name may have been associated with the landed gentry or aristocracy, as land ownership was a significant source of wealth and power.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Terris:
1. Terris Constantinus (c. 330 AD - 392 AD), a Roman general and military commander under the emperor Julian the Apostate.
2. Terris de Montfort (c. 1180 - 1234), a French nobleman and crusader who fought in the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars in southern France.
3. Terris Cambrensis (c. 1145 - c. 1223), a medieval Welsh clergyman, author, and historian, best known for his works on the history and geography of Britain.
4. Terris Alberti (c. 1250 - 1321), an Italian painter and architect from Florence, who worked on several notable buildings, including the Basilica of Santa Croce.
5. Terris Rabelais (c. 1494 - 1553), a French Renaissance writer, philosopher, and humanist, renowned for his satirical novel "Gargantua and Pantagruel."
While the name Terris may have been more prevalent in certain regions and time periods, it has remained a relatively uncommon name throughout history. Its connection to the earth and land, as well as its Greek and Roman roots, have contributed to its enduring appeal and cultural significance.
People
Terris + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Terris 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
Terris: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Terris?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 881 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Terris 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 389,051 US residents.
Is Terris a common name?
We classify Terris as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 980 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Terris most popular?
The single biggest year for Terris was 1979, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Terris is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Terris in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 874 people with the name Terris, or 0.29 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,712 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 Terris 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 Terris?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Terris on both sides of the split. Of the 871 people counted with this name, 658 were male (75.5%) and 213 were female (24.5%). 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 Terris?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Terris is Black at 66.5%. The next largest groups are White (26.4%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Terris most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Terris in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.5% (581 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 Terris in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Terris a male name?
Yes, 85.4% of people registered as Terris 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 Terris still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Terris 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 Terris 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 Terris as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Terris on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.