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

Terpstra, 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 Terpstra surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Terpstra in America

Terpstra is the 12370th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Terpstra surname appeared 2,514 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Terpstra.

We can also compare 2010 data for Terpstra 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 Terpstra

The surname Terpstra originates from the Netherlands and dates back to the 16th century. It is a locative name, derived from the Dutch place name Terpstra, which means "from the terp settlement." A terp is an artificial dwelling mound or hill constructed in the former marshlands of the Netherlands to provide a safe place for habitation above the waterline.

The earliest recorded instances of the Terpstra surname can be found in Dutch parish records and civil registrations from the late 1500s and early 1600s, primarily concentrated in the northern provinces of Friesland and Groningen. Variations in spelling include Terpstra, Terp, Terpster, and Terpstrae.

One of the earliest known bearers of the Terpstra name was Pieter Terpstra, a farmer and landowner from the village of Bierum in Groningen, who lived from around 1580 to 1650. Another early record is of Gerrit Terpstra, a merchant from Leeuwarden in Friesland, born circa 1610.

In the 17th century, the Terpstra name appears in various historical documents, including tax records and land registries. For example, Douwe Terpstra is listed as a property owner in the town of Hallum, Friesland, in 1654.

Notable individuals with the Terpstra surname include:

1. Sjoerd Terpstra (1836-1915), a Dutch politician and journalist who served as a member of the Dutch parliament.
2. Pieter Terpstra (1879-1957), a Dutch mathematician and professor at the University of Amsterdam.
3. Jelle Terpstra (1924-2013), a Dutch resistance fighter during World War II and recipient of the Netherlands' highest civilian honor, the Resistance Memorial Cross.
4. Anja Terpstra (born 1960), a Dutch former professional tennis player who reached a career-high ranking of No. 19 in the world.
5. Owen Terpstra (born 1979), an American professional hockey player who played in the National Hockey League for several teams.

The Terpstra surname has since spread beyond the Netherlands through emigration, with descendants found in various parts of the world, particularly in North America and Australia.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Terpstra

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!