Unisex name ★ peaked 1955

Terry

Gender Unisex · 19% girls Rank 2025 #1,116 Trend ↓ Falling 28%

A surname originating as a patronymic from the medieval Norman given name Thierry, a cognate of the English Derek.

Rank 2025
#1,116
among boys · ↑71 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
202
named Terry · +10% vs 2024
How common
1 in 8,896
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1955
20,939 babies
All-time total
521,478
#78 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Terry popularity over time

521,478 babies have been named Terry since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
2.557.51018801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 98 98 10 – #437
1890s 7 118 125 13 +28% #458
1900s 53 186 239 24 +91% #501
1910s 328 711 1,039 104 +335% #519
1920s 1,173 1,646 2,819 282 +171% #392
1930s 1,926 11,025 12,951 1,295 +359% #83
1940s 13,698 76,965 90,663 9,066 +600% #26
1950s 43,194 140,724 183,918 18,392 +103% #27
1960s 27,638 101,489 129,127 12,913 -30% #32
1970s 5,778 42,426 48,204 4,820 -63% #54
1980s 1,951 24,157 26,108 2,611 -46% #101
1990s 752 13,040 13,792 1,379 -47% #164
2000s 280 6,638 6,918 692 -50% #331
2010s 133 4,047 4,180 418 -40% #498
2020s (to 2025) 44 1,253 1,297 216 -48% #933

Where Terry is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 182 0.11 outside top 500
2027 174 0.10 outside top 500
2028 167 0.10 outside top 500
2029 162 0.09 outside top 500
2030 157 0.09 outside top 500

Where Terry is most popular

Boys named Terry per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.118 per 1,000. Strongest in Mississippi, Alabama, and Kentucky.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Terry born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Mississippi 20 0.352 +200%
Alabama 29 0.265 +126%
Kentucky 24 0.239 +104%
Louisiana 24 0.235 +100%
Michigan 47 0.229 +95%
North Carolina 55 0.215 +83%
Georgia 54 0.213 +81%
Ohio 53 0.200 +70%
Tennessee 36 0.199 +70%
Florida 81 0.171 +46%
Indiana 25 0.156 +33%
South Carolina 13 0.126 +7%
Texas 104 0.118 ≈ national
Missouri 16 0.115 ≈ national
Arkansas 7 0.111 -6%
Oklahoma 8 0.090 -23%
Virginia 17 0.090 -24%
Illinois 21 0.082 -30%
California 72 0.079 -33%
New York 26 0.060 -49%
Wisconsin 5 0.042 -64%
Arizona 6 0.037 -69%
Pennsylvania 7 0.026 -78%
Alaska – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Kansas – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Minnesota – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Terry

Terry is uncommon for boys in the United States, ranked #1,116 in 2025 with 192 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 521,478 American babies have been named Terry, about 81% boys and 19% girls, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 1955, when 20,939 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1950s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Terry stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Terry?

The median living Terry is about 65 years old; half are between 56 and 71. An estimated 396 thousand people named Terry are alive in the United States today.

median 65 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Terry year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 10 #10,047 192 #1,116
2024 10 #10,198 174 #1,187
2023 9 #11,091 204 #1,065
2022 7 #13,455 231 #978
2021 – – 214 #1,029
2020 8 #12,047 238 #933
2019 15 #7,685 267 #844
2018 10 #10,491 314 #757
2017 9 #11,545 358 #691
2016 11 #10,056 388 #666
2015 8 #12,910 389 #663
2014 9 #11,859 423 #625
2013 15 #8,113 427 #594
2012 17 #7,433 482 #542
2011 18 #7,090 478 #533
2010 21 #6,366 521 #498
2009 23 #6,075 482 #549
2008 15 #8,490 580 #480
2007 26 #5,513 608 #455
2006 24 #5,692 614 #445
2005 25 #5,247 693 #406
2004 49 #3,174 657 #400
2003 22 #5,572 667 #392
2002 30 #4,271 687 #380
2001 36 #3,700 803 #343
2000 30 #4,176 847 #331
1995 55 #2,391 1,176 #245
1990 114 #1,395 1,893 #164
1985 180 #892 2,374 #119
1980 292 #625 2,981 #101
1975 491 #412 3,971 #67
1970 1,114 #269 6,186 #54
1965 2,021 #174 9,088 #40
1960 4,840 #101 13,932 #34
1955 5,353 #83 15,586 #28
1950 2,526 #127 11,433 #30
1945 950 #204 6,834 #33
1940 370 #331 2,982 #73
1935 195 #457 962 #154
1930 152 #555 296 #321
1925 148 #597 190 #436
1920 54 #1,019 142 #514
1915 32 #1,252 105 #549
1910 16 #1,162 30 #521
1905 9 #1,403 15 #634
1900 – – 21 #532
1895 – – 13 #605
1890 – – 12 #598
1885 – – 9 #691
1880 – – 10 #632

Famous people named Terry

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Terry Crews Terry Crews American actor and football player (born 1968) Contemporary
  2. 2 Terry Bradshaw Terry Bradshaw American football player and sports analyst (born 1948) Contemporary
  3. 3 Terry Gilliam Terry Gilliam American-born British filmmaker (born 1940) Contemporary
  4. 4 Terry Pratchett Terry Pratchett English fantasy author (1948–2015) Contemporary
  5. 5 Terry Fox Terry Fox Canadian athlete (1958–1981) Contemporary
  6. 6 Terry Jones Terry Jones Welsh actor, comedian, director, historian and writer (1942–2020) Contemporary
  7. 7 Terry Farrell Terry Farrell American actress and model (born 1963) Contemporary
  8. 8 Terry O'Quinn Terry O'Quinn American actor (born 1952) Contemporary
  9. 9 Terry Funk Terry Funk American wrestler (1944–2023) Contemporary
  10. 10 Terry Wogan Terry Wogan Irish-British radio and television broadcaster (1938–2016) Contemporary
  11. 11 Terry Venables Terry Venables English football player and manager (1943–2023) Contemporary
  12. 12 Terry Moore Terry Moore American actress (born 1929) Contemporary
  13. 13 Terry Butcher Terry Butcher English football player and manager b. 1958 · Contemporary
  14. 14 Terry Richardson Terry Richardson American photographer (born 1965) Contemporary
  15. 15 Terry Bozzio Terry Bozzio American drummer (born 1950) Contemporary
  16. 16 Terry Jacks Terry Jacks Canadian musician (born 1944) Contemporary
  17. 17 Terry Sawchuk Terry Sawchuk Canadian ice hockey player (1929–1970) Contemporary
  18. 18 Terry Branstad Terry Branstad American politician (born 1946) Contemporary
  19. 19 Terry Goodkind Terry Goodkind American writer (1948–2020) Contemporary
  20. 20 Terry Gou Terry Gou Founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Foxconn b. 1950 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Terry, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Terry?

The median living Terry is about 65 years old. Half of all living Terrys are between 56 and 71 years old.

How many people named Terry are alive today?

An estimated 396 thousand people named Terry are alive in the United States, based on 521,478 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Terry mean?

A surname originating as a patronymic from the medieval Norman given name Thierry, a cognate of the English Derek.

How popular is the name Terry in 2025?

Terry ranked #1,116 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 192 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Terry?

521,478 babies have been named Terry in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Terry most popular?

Terry peaked in 1955, when 20,939 newborns received the name.

Is Terry a boy or girl name?

Terry is used for both: about 19% of babies named Terry have been girls and 81% boys.

Is the name Terry rising or falling?

Terry is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Terry become more popular?

Terry is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 157 boys named Terry in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Terry?

Well-known people named Terry include Terry Crews (actor), Terry Bradshaw (actor), Terry Gilliam (film director).

Names like Terry

Names that sound and feel close to Terry: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Terry with similar names → More names starting with T →