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

Terp, 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 Terp surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Terp in America

Terp is the 71478th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Terp surname appeared 273 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Terp.

We can also compare 2010 data for Terp 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 Terp

The surname TERP is believed to have originated in the Netherlands, where it first appeared in the 17th century. It is derived from the Dutch word "terp," which refers to an artificial mound or hill that was built in the Low Countries as a means of protection against flooding.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname TERP can be found in the Dutch city of Groningen, where a family by that name was documented in the late 1600s. The name was likely adopted by those who lived or worked on or near these terps, which were a common feature of the landscape in certain parts of the Netherlands.

Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the surname TERP began to spread beyond its original Dutch roots, as individuals bearing the name emigrated to other parts of Europe and eventually to the Americas. Notable figures from this period who carried the TERP surname include Johannes TERP (1726-1804), a Dutch merchant and landowner who was influential in the development of the city of Rotterdam.

In the United States, the name TERP first appeared in the late 19th century, likely brought over by Dutch immigrants. One of the earliest known Americans to bear the surname was Peter TERP (1842-1917), a farmer who settled in Minnesota after emigrating from the Netherlands in the 1860s.

Other notable individuals with the surname TERP throughout history include:

1. Hendrik TERP (1872-1945), a Dutch architect known for his work on several prominent buildings in Amsterdam.
2. Gerrit TERP (1901-1988), a Dutch politician who served as a member of the Netherlands Parliament from 1946 to 1967.
3. Cornelia TERP (1920-2005), a Dutch-American writer and journalist who published several acclaimed works of fiction and non-fiction.
4. Pieter TERP (1925-2002), a Dutch painter and sculptor whose works are held in several major museums and galleries throughout Europe.
5. Johanna TERP (1934-2018), a Dutch-born American academic and author who was a pioneering figure in the field of women's studies.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Terp

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

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 Terp 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 Terp 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 Terp was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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