Terence
Terence was given to 47 boys in 2025, #2,753 among boys’ names; 34,460 Americans have been recorded with it since 1885 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 27,000 Americans named Terence and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (78% of everyone recorded); the median is 53 years old and half are between 38 and 65.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Terence by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Terence mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Terence is “a male given name from Latin, popular in the U.K. in the mid-twentieth century.”
From Latin Terentius, a Roman family name of obscure origin, borne by a Roman playwright and by early Christian saints.
In Ireland, it has been used to represent Turlough.
/ˈtɛɹəns/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Terence?
#2,753 among boys’ names, 2025
Terence fell from #1,598 in 2015 to #2,753 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 52.7 to 27.5 per million.
1,024 babies in 1964, the peak
Terence peaked in 1964, when 1,024 babies were given it (1,014 boys, #241 among boys’ names). The 47 births of 2025 are 5% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 47 | #2,753 | 0.03 |
| 2024 | 43 | #2,949 | 0.02 |
| 2023 | 37 | #3,282 | 0.02 |
| 2022 | 61 | #2,346 | 0.03 |
| 2021 | 56 | #2,433 | 0.03 |
| 2020 | 59 | #2,320 | 0.03 |
| 2019 | 77 | #1,931 | 0.04 |
| 2018 | 70 | #2,060 | 0.04 |
| 2017 | 81 | #1,842 | 0.04 |
| 2016 | 97 | #1,653 | 0.05 |
Every recorded year (120)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 101 | #1,598 | 0.05 |
| 2014 | 111 | #1,472 | 0.06 |
| 2013 | 116 | #1,432 | 0.06 |
| 2012 | 135 | #1,294 | 0.07 |
| 2011 | 127 | #1,342 | 0.07 |
| 2010 | 143 | #1,239 | 0.07 |
| 2009 | 129 | #1,346 | 0.07 |
| 2008 | 130 | #1,333 | 0.06 |
| 2007 | 145 | #1,222 | 0.07 |
| 2006 | 138 | #1,223 | 0.07 |
| 2005 | 122 | #1,276 | 0.06 |
| 2004 | 136 | #1,156 | 0.07 |
| 2003 | 177 | #930 | 0.09 |
| 2002 | 148 | #1,042 | 0.08 |
| 2001 | 164 | #947 | 0.08 |
| 2000 | 202 | #798 | 0.10 |
| 1999 | 223 | #732 | 0.12 |
| 1998 | 204 | #772 | 0.11 |
| 1997 | 172 | #835 | 0.09 |
| 1996 | 247 | #667 | 0.13 |
| 1995 | 289 | #602 | 0.15 |
| 1994 | 343 | #553 | 0.18 |
| 1993 | 358 | #543 | 0.18 |
| 1992 | 437 | #481 | 0.22 |
| 1991 | 425 | #478 | 0.21 |
| 1990 | 482 | #451 | 0.23 |
| 1989 | 572 | #386 | 0.29 |
| 1988 | 595 | #349 | 0.31 |
| 1987 | 481 | #394 | 0.26 |
| 1986 | 503 | #371 | 0.27 |
| 1985 | 549 | #344 | 0.30 |
| 1984 | 551 | #339 | 0.31 |
| 1983 | 524 | #347 | 0.29 |
| 1982 | 479 | #367 | 0.26 |
| 1981 | 413 | #400 | 0.23 |
| 1980 | 395 | #411 | 0.22 |
| 1979 | 380 | #405 | 0.22 |
| 1978 | 406 | #386 | 0.25 |
| 1977 | 425 | #380 | 0.26 |
| 1976 | 421 | #372 | 0.27 |
| 1975 | 480 | #352 | 0.31 |
| 1974 | 485 | #347 | 0.31 |
| 1973 | 502 | #340 | 0.32 |
| 1972 | 529 | #335 | 0.33 |
| 1971 | 539 | #343 | 0.30 |
| 1970 | 595 | #324 | 0.32 |
| 1969 | 624 | #303 | 0.35 |
| 1968 | 786 | #256 | 0.45 |
| 1967 | 766 | #264 | 0.44 |
| 1966 | 805 | #255 | 0.45 |
| 1965 | 768 | #270 | 0.41 |
| 1964 | 1,014 | #241 | 0.51 |
| 1963 | 810 | #269 | 0.40 |
| 1962 | 747 | #281 | 0.36 |
| 1961 | 729 | #287 | 0.34 |
| 1960 | 754 | #288 | 0.35 |
| 1959 | 740 | #289 | 0.35 |
| 1958 | 715 | #285 | 0.34 |
| 1957 | 795 | #267 | 0.37 |
| 1956 | 887 | #244 | 0.42 |
| 1955 | 767 | #250 | 0.37 |
| 1954 | 661 | #275 | 0.32 |
| 1953 | 478 | #323 | 0.24 |
| 1952 | 445 | #329 | 0.23 |
| 1951 | 405 | #338 | 0.22 |
| 1950 | 447 | #322 | 0.25 |
| 1949 | 390 | #341 | 0.22 |
| 1948 | 402 | #335 | 0.23 |
| 1947 | 436 | #329 | 0.24 |
| 1946 | 349 | #350 | 0.21 |
| 1945 | 243 | #383 | 0.18 |
| 1944 | 212 | #415 | 0.16 |
| 1943 | 264 | #377 | 0.18 |
| 1942 | 203 | #433 | 0.15 |
| 1941 | 171 | #451 | 0.14 |
| 1940 | 136 | #499 | 0.12 |
| 1939 | 120 | #522 | 0.11 |
| 1938 | 126 | #517 | 0.11 |
| 1937 | 120 | #530 | 0.11 |
| 1936 | 108 | #551 | 0.10 |
| 1935 | 97 | #588 | 0.09 |
| 1934 | 66 | #761 | 0.06 |
| 1933 | 63 | #774 | 0.06 |
| 1932 | 74 | #727 | 0.07 |
| 1931 | 48 | #958 | 0.05 |
| 1930 | 44 | #1,048 | 0.04 |
| 1929 | 51 | #951 | 0.05 |
| 1928 | 33 | #1,268 | 0.03 |
| 1927 | 39 | #1,159 | 0.03 |
| 1926 | 31 | #1,329 | 0.03 |
| 1925 | 28 | #1,420 | 0.03 |
| 1924 | 37 | #1,201 | 0.03 |
| 1923 | 38 | #1,176 | 0.03 |
| 1922 | 42 | #1,105 | 0.04 |
| 1921 | 68 | #842 | 0.06 |
| 1920 | 46 | #1,033 | 0.04 |
| 1919 | 26 | #1,445 | 0.03 |
| 1918 | 22 | #1,644 | 0.02 |
| 1917 | 26 | #1,390 | 0.03 |
| 1916 | 22 | #1,543 | 0.02 |
| 1915 | 20 | #1,594 | 0.02 |
| 1914 | 19 | #1,436 | 0.03 |
| 1913 | 10 | #1,931 | 0.02 |
| 1912 | 19 | #1,093 | 0.04 |
| 1911 | 5 | #1,968 | 0.02 |
| 1906 | 8 | #991 | 0.06 |
| 1904 | 6 | #1,187 | 0.05 |
| 1888 | 9 | #749 | 0.07 |
| 1887 | 5 | #1,054 | 0.05 |
| 1885 | 9 | #690 | 0.08 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Terence a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Terence has been given almost only to boys: 170 girls in 120 years of records.
Girls and boys named Terence: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Terence, and how old are they?
27,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 78% of the 34,460 Americans ever recorded as Terence. The median Terence alive today is 53 years old; half are between 38 and 65.
The 2020 Census counted 26,742 people named Terence (80 women and girls, 26,662 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 28,537 born in the U.S. The Census count is 6% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 587 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 8,260 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 7,850 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 6,930 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 2,450 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 949 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Terence born?
The states with the most babies named Terence are New York, California and Pennsylvania, with 32% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 4,921 | #2,015 | 1.8× |
| California | 2,603 | #2,774 | 0.8× |
| Pennsylvania | 1,897 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Illinois | 1,866 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Ohio | 1,605 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Michigan | 1,523 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| New Jersey | 1,507 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| Texas | 1,443 | #2,914 | 0.6× |
| Florida | 1,088 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Georgia | 952 | #1,523 | 1.0× |
Where Terence is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Terence is most over-represented in New York: since 1910 it was given 1.8 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Terence with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 5 names spelled alike, given to 181,214 babies since 1880, Terence is the third most given (19% of them). In 2025 it was given to 47 of their 263 babies (18%), again the third most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Terence
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Terence and names like it
- Compare Terence and TerrenceBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1960sTerence peaked in 1964.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Terence since 1910.
- Latin namesWiktionary’s origin for Terence: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1964The year the most babies were named Terence.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Terence alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with TMost given first.