Terrye
A feminine diminutive of Terry, from the Old French place name Thierry, meaning "territory ruler".
Name Census estimates that about 335 living Americans carry the first name Terrye. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Terrye today is around 70 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Terrye births was 1955 (37 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Terrye. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Terrye is about 70 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Terryes were born before 1966.
People living today
335
~ 1 in 1,023,147 Americans
Peak year
1955
37 babies that year
Average age
70
years old
1973 SSA rank
#9,675
Tracked since 1942
Popularity
Terrye: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Terrye from the 1940s through to the 1970s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 278 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Terrye 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 Terrye during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Terryes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Texas, Tennessee, Oklahoma recorded the most babies named Terrye, while Florida, Alabama, Oklahoma recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 19 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Terrye
The name Terrye has its origins in the Old French language, derived from the word "terre," meaning "earth" or "land." It emerged during the medieval period, likely around the 12th or 13th century, and was initially used as a descriptive surname for individuals associated with agricultural or landowning pursuits.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Terrye can be found in the 13th-century historical records of Normandy, France, where it was used to identify a landowner or farmer. The name's transition from a surname to a given name is believed to have occurred gradually over the subsequent centuries.
In the late 14th century, the name Terrye appeared in the writings of the renowned English poet Geoffrey Chaucer, who mentioned a character with this name in his work "The Canterbury Tales." This literary reference suggests that the name had gained some recognition in England by that time.
During the Renaissance period, from the 14th to the 17th century, the name Terrye was associated with several notable individuals. One such figure was Terrye de Boulogne, a French philosopher and theologian who lived in the late 15th century and wrote extensively on the intersection of faith and reason.
Another historical figure bearing the name Terrye was an Italian painter and sculptor, Terrye Della Robbia, born in 1469. He was renowned for his innovative glazed terra-cotta sculptures and his contributions to the Italian Renaissance art movement.
In the 17th century, the name Terrye gained prominence in England with the birth of Terrye Wharton, an influential writer and philosopher. Wharton, who lived from 1617 to 1688, was known for his works on natural law and political theory, which influenced the development of Enlightenment thought.
The 18th century saw the rise of Terrye Benton, a prominent British politician and diplomat born in 1713. Benton served as a member of Parliament and played a significant role in shaping Britain's foreign policy during his time as a diplomat.
As the centuries progressed, the name Terrye continued to be used across various cultures and regions, with notable individuals bearing this name emerging in different fields, including science, literature, and the arts.
People
Terrye + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Terrye 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
Terrye: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Terrye?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 335 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Terrye 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 1,023,147 US residents.
Is Terrye a common name?
We classify Terrye as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 484 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Terrye most popular?
The single biggest year for Terrye was 1955, when 37 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Terrye is about 70 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Terrye a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Terrye 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.