2000
#12,299
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,319
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.86
Rare Last name
Terpstra
A Dutch occupational surname referring to someone who extracted turpentine from pine trees or sold turpentine.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,978 Americans carry the last name Terpstra. That puts it at #11,578 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.87 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 115,095 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Terpstra 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
3.0K
1 in 115,095
Census rank
#11,578
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,597 bearers of the surname Terpstra in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.87 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11578th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Terpstra, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.0%) and Hispanic (1.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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In the 17th century, the Terpstra name appears in various historical documents, including tax records and land registries.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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Terpstra
Among Census respondents with the surname Terpstra, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.0%) and Hispanic (1.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Terpstra 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 Terpstra surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.4% · 2,477
- Two or more races2.0% · 51
- Hispanic or Latino1.5% · 38
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 20
- Black or African American0.2% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Terpstra
Terpstra 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
#12,370
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,514
+195 bearers (+8.4%)
Per 100,000 0.85
Rank movement Down 71 places
2020
#11,578
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,597
+83 bearers (+3.3%)
Per 100,000 0.87
Rank movement Up 792 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,299 | 2,319 | 0.86 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,370 | 2,514 | 0.85 | +195 bearers (+8.4%) | Down 71 places |
| 2020 | #11,578 | 2,597 | 0.87 | +83 bearers (+3.3%) | Up 792 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 Terpstra 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 | #12,370 | #11,578 | 6.4% |
| Count | 2,514 | 2,597 | 3.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.85 | 0.87 | 2.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Terpstra bearers went from 2,514 to 2,597 (+3.3% change). The surname moved up 792 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,370 to #11,578.
FAQ
Terpstra surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Terpstra?
Name Census estimates that about 2,978 living Americans carry the surname Terpstra. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 115,095 residents.
How common is Terpstra?
Terpstra ranks #11,578 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.87 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,597 people with the surname Terpstra. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,978), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.87 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.87 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Terpstra.
Has Terpstra become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Terpstra went from 2,514 recorded bearers to 2,597. That is an increase of 83 (+3.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,370 to #11,578.
What does the Census say about the background of Terpstra?
Among Census respondents with the surname Terpstra, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.0%) and Hispanic (1.5%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Terpstra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.4% (2,477 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Terpstra appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.4%), Two or More Races (2.0%), Hispanic (1.5%). 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 Terpstra (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 Terpstra mean?
A Dutch occupational surname referring to someone who extracted turpentine from pine trees or sold turpentine. 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 Terpstra (0.87 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 last name Terpstra?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Terpstra? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.