Boys' name · since 1895
Terrance
70,170 babies named Terrance in U.S. Social Security records since 1895, with the highest year being 1988. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #407 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #1,565 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 70,170
- born since 1895
- 1980s
- peak decade
Yes -- Terrance is the #1565 most popular boys' name in the U.S. today, with 70,170 recorded since 1895.
Terrance has 70,170 recorded births among boys since 1895, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #1565 as of the latest data, more common than 89% of boys, busiest in the 1980s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1895 to 2025.
- #407 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #1,565 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 70,170 born since 1895
- 1980s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Terrance ranks #407 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,565 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 70,170 born since 1895, peaking in the 1980s.
- #407 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #1,565 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 70,170
- born since 1895
- 1980s
- peak decade
Terrance's 70,170 recorded births place it above 99.1% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Illinois.
How Terrance compares
70,170 Top 3% higher than 97% of 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Terrance's all-time total is 190x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Terrance | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 70,170 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 1,424 | 34 | 22,252 |
Terrance's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Terrance splits its recorded history at 1967: 67% of all births land in the more recent half, 33% in the earlier half, a lean toward present-day use rather than a passing spike. The single quietest year was 1895 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1988 peak of 1,424 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Terrance popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1895–2025
- Peak year (1988)
- 1,424
- Annual births at peak, across 131 years of records
Terrance popularity over time - girls
751 total births recorded since 1943 (Terrance as girls' name)
Terrance by decade
1980s is the heaviest window (12,570 births, 18% of the file).
1980s was Terrance's strongest decade.
12,570 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 18% of all-time use.
Terrance births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1890s 5
1890s
5 births
- 1910s 127
1910s
127 births
- 1920s 289
1920s
289 births
- 1930s 1,120
1930s
1,120 births
- 1940s
1940s
5,457 births
- 1950s
1950s
9,834 births
- 1960s
1960s
9,059 births
- 1970s
1970s
11,884 births
- 1980s
1980s
12,570 births
- 1990s
1990s
9,547 births
- 2000s
2000s
5,646 births
- 2010s 3,607
2010s
3,607 births
- 2020s 1,025
2020s
1,025 births
What this shows Peak: 1980s at 12,570 births (18% of all-time use).
How Terrance compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Terrance's total volume
Terrance by state
Where Terrance concentrates geographically, total births since 1895
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Illinois | | 4,819 | 6.9% |
| #2 | New York | | 4,438 | 6.3% |
| #3 | Michigan | | 4,338 | 6.2% |
| #4 | California | | 3,879 | 5.5% |
| #5 | Texas | | 3,859 | 5.5% |
| #6 | Ohio | | 3,809 | 5.4% |
| #7 | Florida | | 3,506 | 5.0% |
| #8 | Pennsylvania | | 3,471 | 4.9% |
4,819 of 70,170 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Terrance appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Terrance? ▼
Where does Terrance sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Terrance most popular? ▼
Where is Terrance most popular? ▼
How long has the name Terrance been used? ▼
What names are similar to Terrance? ▼
What to do with Terrance's data
- Terrance's decade-level peak was the 1980s (12,570 total births); usage has since declined to 1,025 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Illinois records the most Terrances (4,819 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Illinois names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Terrance
Nearby Names Like Terrance
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Terrance
Compare Terrance side by side: Terrance vs Terry Terrance vs Terrence Terrance vs Terrell
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Terrance
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Terrance: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1988)
Similar record span (~130 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1895–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Terrance draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.