Tery
A masculine name of French origin meaning "people's territory".
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the first name Tery. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 79.4% of registrations being male. The average person named Tery today is around 62 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tery births was 1955 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tery. 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
136
~ 1 in 2,520,252 Americans
Peak year
1955
17 babies that year
Average age
62
years old
1991 SSA rank
#5,266
Tracked since 1950
Census
Tery in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 496 people with the first name Tery, which placed it at #20,722 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
#20,722
National first-name rank
People counted
496
496 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
63.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tery
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tery is White at 63.7%. The next largest groups are Black (17.5%) and Hispanic (9.9%). 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 Tery 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 Tery at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White63.7% · 316
- Black or African American17.5% · 87
- Hispanic or Latino9.9% · 49
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.2% · 21
- Two or more races2.4% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.2% · 11
Gender
Gender distribution for Tery
Tery is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 165 total registrations, 131 (79.4%) were male and 34 (20.6%) were female.
Tery as a male name
- Ranked #6,455 in 1991
- 8 male births in 1991
- Peak: 1955 (11 births)
Tery as a female name
- Ranked #5,266 in 1961
- 8 female births in 1961
- Peak: 1961 (8 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Tery on both sides of the split. Of the 499 people counted with this name, 315 were male (63.1%) and 184 were female (36.9%).
Popularity
Tery: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tery from the 1950s through to the 1990s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 70 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
Tery 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 Tery during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tery
The given name Tery is believed to have its origins in the ancient Celtic language, with roots dating back to the early medieval period. It is derived from the word "teryn," which translates to "strong" or "powerful" in Old Celtic. The name was initially prevalent among the Celtic tribes that inhabited parts of modern-day Britain, Ireland, and northern France.
During the Roman conquest of Britain in the 1st century AD, the name Tery gained recognition as it was commonly used by Celtic warriors and chieftains who fought against the Roman legions. One notable figure from this era was Tery of Caledonia, a renowned leader of the Picts who led fierce resistance against the Roman Empire in what is now northern Scotland.
As Christianity spread across Europe in the following centuries, the name Tery found its way into early Christian writings and records. In the 6th century, a monk named Tery of Iona was renowned for his scholarly contributions and his work in transcribing ancient Celtic texts at the monastery on the Scottish island of Iona.
The popularity of the name Tery continued throughout the Middle Ages, particularly in regions with strong Celtic cultural influences. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of land and property in England commissioned by William the Conqueror, which mentions a landowner named Tery of Shrewsbury.
In the 12th century, a notable figure named Tery of Montbéliard was a French knight and crusader who participated in the Third Crusade alongside King Richard the Lionheart. His bravery and valor in battle earned him recognition throughout Europe.
During the Renaissance period, the name Tery gained prominence in the arts and literature. Tery O'Malley, an Irish pirate queen who lived in the 16th century, was a formidable figure who commanded a fleet of ships and played a significant role in the political and maritime affairs of the time.
In more recent centuries, several individuals with the name Tery have left their mark on various fields. Tery Gilliam, born in 1940, is an American filmmaker and member of the renowned Monty Python comedy troupe, known for his distinctive directorial style and surreal visuals.
Tery Brooks, born in 1965, is an American actor and comedian who has starred in numerous television shows and movies, including the popular sitcom "Friends" and the critically acclaimed film "Driving Miss Daisy."
Tery Pratchett, born in 1948 and passed away in 2015, was a celebrated British author best known for his satirical fantasy novel series "Discworld," which explored themes of social commentary and humor.
Overall, the name Tery has a rich history dating back to ancient Celtic cultures and has been associated with strength, power, and bravery throughout various periods and regions.
People
Tery + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tery 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
Tery: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tery?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 136 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tery 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 2,520,252 US residents.
Is Tery a common name?
We classify Tery as "Very Rare". It ranks above 68.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 165 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tery most popular?
The single biggest year for Tery was 1955, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tery is about 62 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tery in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 496 people with the name Tery, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,722 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 Tery 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 Tery?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Tery on both sides of the split. Of the 499 people counted with this name, 315 were male (63.1%) and 184 were female (36.9%). 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 Tery?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tery is White at 63.7%. The next largest groups are Black (17.5%) and Hispanic (9.9%). 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 Tery most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Tery in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.7% (316 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 Tery in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tery a male name?
Yes, 79.4% of people registered as Tery 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 Tery still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tery 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 Tery 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 Tery as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.