Recorded 1955–2018 Girls' name Peak 1985 1,373 births

Terah — girls' name

1,373 babies named Terah in U.S. Social Security records since 1955, with the highest year being 1985. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1950s131960s411970s3111980s4861990s2772000s1672010s78
1980s
Peak decade

35% of everyone ever named Terah was born in this single decade.

1985
Single peak year

65 babies were named Terah in 1985 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Terah

The Social Security Administration has registered 1,373 babies named Terah between 1955 and 2018, spanning 64 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a girl's name, Terah currently falls outside the top 1,000 girls' names for 2018. The name reached its historical peak in 1985, when 65 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Terah performed strongest in the 1980s, accumulating 486 births during that ten-year window. Across the 7 decades of recorded activity, Terah shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in California, which accounts for 73 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Texas and Ohio. In total, SSA state-level files list Terah in 8 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Terah in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 1,373 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Terah at a glance

Last recorded 2018

Total births

1,373

Since 1955

64 years of records

Peak year

1985

65 births that year

Strongest decade: 1980s

Current rank

Unranked

Outside the modern top-1,000

As of 2018

Active since

1955

Recorded for 64 years

Last year on file: 2018

Terah popularity over time — girls

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2018–1955

Last recorded 2018
Peak year (1985)
65
Annual births at peak — across 64 years of records
020406080 201820102002199419861978197019591955 7

Terah popularity over time — boys

43 total births recorded since 1968 (Terah as boys' name)

Unisex variant — 43 births
4.555.566.5 19911982198119801978197719741968 5

Terah by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1980s
Peak decade
1980s
486 births that decade — 35% of Terah's all-time total
1950s131960s411970s3111980s4861990s2772000s1672010s78

Terah by state

Where Terah concentrates geographically — total births since 1955

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Terah
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
73 5.3%
#2 Texas
56 4.1%
#3 Ohio
19 1.4%
#4 Illinois
16 1.2%
#5 Indiana
7 0.5%
#6 Oklahoma
6 0.4%
#7 Florida
5 0.4%
#8 Michigan
5 0.4%
California share of Terah's total US births 5.3%
Even split

73 of 1,373 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 8 reporting states.

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Terah?
1,373 babies have been named Terah since 1955. It was last recorded in 2018. The peak year was 1985 with 65 births.
When was Terah most popular?
Terah was most popular in the 1980s decade with 486 total births. The single peak year was 1985.
Where is Terah most popular?
The top states for the name Terah are California (73 births), Texas (56 births), Ohio (19 births).
How long has the name Terah been used?
Terah has been recorded in Social Security data since 1955, spanning 64 years of data through 2018.
What names are similar to Terah?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Teresa, Terri, Terry, Teri, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

Keep exploring Terah

Nearby Names Like Terah

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Terah

Names with a similar number of total births

Baby Name Guides

Learn more about naming trends and how to use data to choose a name

Explore more names

Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1955–2018 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.