Terina
Feminine
The ending of Terina came off the back of a dozen Italian names and went into general use. Caterina, Marina, Serafina, Cristina: the last two syllables detached, became recognizable as a piece rather than as part of a name, and were then available to attach to anything.
How old is the name Terina?
Terina first appears in US birth records in 1955 — 70 years ago. The typical Terina alive today was born around 1973, making them about 52 years old. About 1,100 people named Terina are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Terina most popular?
Terina peaked in 1968, reaching #1375 nationally. See the whole 1968 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Terina
An ending only becomes available once people stop hearing it as part of a particular name, and that takes a critical mass. When enough names share a final sequence, listeners begin to parse it as a separate unit, and at that point it can be transplanted; the process is exactly the same as the one that gave English the ending on words like kitchenette and the one that gave American naming its whole stock of suffixes. What is unusual about this particular ending is how many languages contributed. Italian supplied most of it, Latin some, Slavic languages more, and by the time it reached mid-century America it was carrying no national association at all, which is precisely what made it useful.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No source and no meaning. The front is a syllable in wide American circulation and the ending is naming material rather than a word. It may be a clipping of Katerina and it may have been built whole, and the record preserves neither.
Pronouncing Terina
tuh-REE-nuh
Three syllables with the stress in the middle. The first and last vowels are reduced to nothing, which is why the record also holds Tarina and Torina with no audible difference.
Nicknames for Terina
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1955
- Most girls named
- 196967 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1375reached in 1968
- Change vs 2006
- −44.4%5 in 2011, from 9
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Terinas among us
people named Terina are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Terina sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Rina and Teri are two short forms that both stand alone as names.
- The rhythm is easy and every sound is available to an English speaker.
- It is genuinely uncommon while containing nothing unfamiliar.
- It will be heard as Katerina and Serena, both of which are commoner.
- Several spellings of the same sound circulate, so spelling it out is likely.
- There is no meaning to give a child who asks.
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Terina
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Terinas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,100 people named Terina are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Terina in 2025?
- Terina is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Terina with classmates?
- Terina will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More T names
The most-given names starting with T, all years combined.
Teresa#908 · Theresa#1548 · Tiffany#878 · Tammy#3645 · Taylor#403 · Tina#2778 · Tracy#2153 · Thelma#4661
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Terina? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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