2000
#5,452
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,869
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.18
Rare Last name
Teran
A habitational surname referring to someone from any of various places called Terán in Spain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,356 Americans carry the last name Teran. That puts it at #4,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 36,635 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Teran surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
9.4K
1 in 36,635
Census rank
#4,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,159 bearers of the surname Teran in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Teran, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 91.6%. The next largest groups are White (7.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Teran
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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Teran
Among Census respondents with the surname Teran, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 91.6%. The next largest groups are White (7.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Teran bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Teran surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino91.6% · 7,474
- White7.0% · 571
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 39
- Two or more races0.3% · 28
- Black or African American0.3% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 20
Timeline
Historical Census data for Teran
Teran appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#4,139
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,557
+2,688 bearers (+45.8%)
Per 100,000 2.90
Rank movement Up 1,313 places
2020
#4,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,159
-398 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 2.73
Rank movement Down 66 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,452 | 5,869 | 2.18 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,139 | 8,557 | 2.90 | +2,688 bearers (+45.8%) | Up 1,313 places |
| 2020 | #4,205 | 8,159 | 2.73 | -398 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 66 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Teran surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #4,139 | #4,205 | -1.6% |
| Count | 8,557 | 8,159 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 2.90 | 2.73 | -5.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Teran bearers went from 8,557 to 8,159 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 66 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,139 to #4,205.
FAQ
Teran surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Teran?
Name Census estimates that about 9,356 living Americans carry the surname Teran. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 36,635 residents.
How common is Teran?
Teran ranks #4,205 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.73 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,159 people with the surname Teran. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,356), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.73 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Teran.
Has Teran become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Teran went from 8,557 recorded bearers to 8,159. That is a decrease of 398 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,139 to #4,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Teran?
Among Census respondents with the surname Teran, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 91.6%. The next largest groups are White (7.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.5%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Teran in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.6% (7,474 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Teran appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (91.6%), White (7.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.5%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Teran (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Teran mean?
A habitational surname referring to someone from any of various places called Terán in Spain. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Teran (2.73 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Teran?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.