2000
#141,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Terras
A topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a terrace or ridge.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Terras. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Terras 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Terras with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Terras in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Terras, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.4%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Terras
The surname Terras is believed to have originated in the region of Catalonia, Spain, during the medieval period. It is derived from the Catalan word "terra," meaning "land" or "earth," suggesting that the name may have initially referred to someone who owned or worked on a particular piece of land or territory.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the 14th-century Catalan manuscript "Llibre de Repartiment de València," which documents the distribution of lands among the Aragonese nobility after the conquest of Valencia in 1238. This manuscript mentions several individuals with the surname Terras, indicating that the name was already established in the region at that time.
In the 15th century, the name appears in various historical records from the Kingdom of Aragon, such as tax rolls and land ownership documents. During this period, the name was often spelled as "Terres" or "Terrez," reflecting the linguistic variations of the time.
One notable figure bearing the surname Terras was Francesc Terras, a Catalan merchant and explorer who accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the Americas in 1493. Terras played a significant role in establishing trade relationships between Spain and the New World.
Another prominent individual with this name was Jaume Terras, a 16th-century Catalan architect renowned for his contributions to the Renaissance architectural style in Spain. He designed several notable buildings, including the Palau de la Generalitat in Barcelona.
In the 17th century, the surname Terras spread beyond Catalonia and can be found in various parts of Spain, as well as in the Spanish colonies in the Americas. One notable bearer of the name from this period was Diego Terras, a Spanish military officer who served in the conquest of Mexico and later became a prominent landowner in New Spain.
During the 18th century, the name Terras appeared in various regions of Europe, possibly due to migration and trade. For example, there are records of individuals with this surname in France, Italy, and even parts of Germany, where it may have been influenced by similar-sounding local surnames.
One of the most famous bearers of the Terras surname was the 19th-century Spanish painter and engraver, Marià Terras. Born in Barcelona in 1818, he gained recognition for his landscapes and genre scenes depicting everyday life in Catalonia.
Throughout its history, the surname Terras has undergone various spelling variations, such as Terres, Terrez, Terraz, and Terrace, reflecting the linguistic and regional differences in its usage. However, the essence of the name, rooted in the concept of land or earth, has remained a consistent thread across its evolution.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Terras
Among Census respondents with the surname Terras, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.4%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Terras 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 Terras surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.4% · 89
- Hispanic or Latino17.4% · 20
- Two or more races2.6% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Terras
Terras 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
#124,548
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 138
+30 bearers (+27.8%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 17,240 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-23 bearers (-16.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 21,209 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #141,788 | 108 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #124,548 | 138 | 0.05 | +30 bearers (+27.8%) | Up 17,240 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | -23 bearers (-16.7%) | Down 21,209 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 Terras 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 | #124,548 | #145,757 | -17.0% |
| Count | 138 | 115 | -16.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -23.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Terras bearers went from 138 to 115 (-16.7% change). The surname moved down 21,209 positions in the national ranking, going from #124,548 to #145,757.
FAQ
Terras surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Terras?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Terras. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Terras?
Terras ranks #145,757 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 115 people with the surname Terras. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Terras.
Has Terras become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Terras went from 138 recorded bearers to 115. That is a decrease of 23 (-16.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #124,548 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Terras?
Among Census respondents with the surname Terras, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.4%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Terras in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.4% (89 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Terras appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (77.4%), Hispanic (17.4%), Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Terras (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 Terras mean?
A topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a terrace or ridge. 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 Terras (0.04 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 common is the surname Terras?
If you just want to know how common the surname Terras is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.