Unisex name · since 1880
Terry
Terry has 424,523 recorded births since 1880 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1957 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #78 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #1,115 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 424,523
- born since 1880
- 1950s
- peak decade
424,523 babies have been named Terry since 1880, making it today's #1115 unisex name.
Social Security Administration records show Terry recorded 424,523 times among boys since 1880, holding rank #1115 nationally today, ahead of 92% of boys, peaking in the 1950s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #78 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #1,115 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 424,523 born since 1880
- 1950s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Terry ranks #78 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,115 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 424,523 born since 1880, peaking in the 1950s.
- #78 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #1,115 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 424,523
- born since 1880
- 1950s
- peak decade
Terry's 424,523 recorded births place it above 99.82% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Ohio.
How Terry compares
424,523 Top 1% higher than 99% 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
Terry's all-time total is 1,150x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Terry | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 424,523 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 15,624 | 34 | 22,252 |
Terry's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Terry splits its recorded history at 1953: 70% of all births land in the more recent half, 30% in the earlier half, a lean toward present-day use rather than a passing spike. The single quietest year was 1891 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1957 peak of 15,624 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Terry popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1957)
- 15,624
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Terry popularity over time - girls
96,955 total births recorded since 1892 (Terry as girls' name)
Terry by decade
1950s is the heaviest window (140,724 births, 33% of the file).
1950s was Terry's strongest decade.
140,724 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 33% of all-time use.
Terry births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 98
1880s
98 births
- 1890s 118
1890s
118 births
- 1900s 186
1900s
186 births
- 1910s 711
1910s
711 births
- 1920s 1,646
1920s
1,646 births
- 1930s 11,025
1930s
11,025 births
- 1940s
1940s
76,965 births
- 1950s
1950s
140,724 births
- 1960s
1960s
101,489 births
- 1970s 42,426
1970s
42,426 births
- 1980s 24,157
1980s
24,157 births
- 1990s 13,040
1990s
13,040 births
- 2000s 6,638
2000s
6,638 births
- 2010s 4,047
2010s
4,047 births
- 2020s 1,253
2020s
1,253 births
What this shows Peak: 1950s at 140,724 births (33% of all-time use).
How Terry 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 Terry's total volume
Terry by state
Where Terry concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Ohio | | 27,828 | 6.6% |
| #2 | Texas | | 25,716 | 6.1% |
| #3 | Illinois | | 23,844 | 5.6% |
| #4 | California | | 23,603 | 5.6% |
| #5 | Michigan | | 21,239 | 5.0% |
| #6 | Pennsylvania | | 19,069 | 4.5% |
| #7 | Indiana | | 17,522 | 4.1% |
| #8 | Tennessee | | 17,228 | 4.1% |
27,828 of 424,523 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Terry appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Terry? ▼
Where does Terry sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Terry most popular? ▼
Where is Terry most popular? ▼
Is Terry a unisex name? ▼
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What names are similar to Terry? ▼
What to do with Terry's data
- Terry's decade-level peak was the 1950s (140,724 total births); usage has since declined to 1,253 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Ohio records the most Terrys (27,828 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Ohio names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Terry
Nearby Names Like Terry
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Terry
Compare Terry side by side: Terry vs Terrence Terry vs Terrance Terry vs Terrell
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Terry
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Terry: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1957)
Similar record span (~145 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, 1880–2025 (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 Terry 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.