Find out how popular the last name Terán is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Terán.

Terán, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Terán surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Terán in America

Terán is the 4139th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Terán surname appeared 8,557 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Terán.

We can also compare 2010 data for Terán to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Terán

The surname Teran has its origins in the Iberian Peninsula, specifically in Spain and Portugal. It is believed to have emerged during the medieval period, between the 9th and 15th centuries.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the surname Teran can be found in the Cartulario de Valpuesta, a medieval manuscript from the 10th century, which documents land ownership and transactions in the Castilian region of Spain. The name is thought to be derived from the Basque word "terrano," meaning "of the land" or "from the land."

During the Reconquista, the centuries-long period of Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors, the surname Teran likely came to be associated with individuals who were landowners or held territories in the northern regions of Spain. Some historians believe the name may have been adopted by those who played a role in the expansion of Christian-controlled territories.

In the 13th century, a notable figure bearing the surname Teran was Rodrigo Teran, a Spanish knight and military leader who fought alongside King Alfonso VIII of Castile in the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212, a pivotal victory against the Almohad Muslim rulers.

During the 15th century, the surname Teran appears in records from the Kingdom of Aragon, with mentions of individuals such as Juan Teran, a merchant and landowner in the city of Zaragoza.

In the 16th century, as the Spanish Empire expanded its influence across the Atlantic, some individuals with the surname Teran accompanied the conquistadors and settlers to the Americas. One such figure was Pedro de Teran, a Spanish soldier and explorer who participated in the expedition to New Mexico in the late 16th century, led by Juan de Oñate.

As the centuries progressed, the surname Teran spread to other parts of the Spanish-speaking world, including Mexico, where notable figures like José Teran, a 19th-century military officer and politician, and Manuel Teran, a 20th-century artist and muralist, carried the name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Terán

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Terán.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Terán was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Terán has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Terán was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Terán, please contact us.

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