Terran
Masculine
Terran is given to both — 1,536 boys and 566 girls since 1880. See Terran as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Terran is a name and, in science fiction, a word: the name its writers gave to people from Earth. It is two syllables with the stress on the first, given mostly to boys and to a real minority of girls.
How old is the name Terran?
Terran first appears in US birth records in 1945 — 80 years ago. The typical Terran alive today was born around 1999, making them about 26 years old. About 1,500 people named Terran are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Terran most popular?
Terran peaked in 1992, reaching #1677 nationally. Today it ranks #5861, 4,184 places below that high. See the whole 1992 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Terran
When science fiction writers needed a word for humans among the stars, they reached for Latin terra, earth, and made Terran, and the word spread through magazines, novels, television and games until a Terran was simply a person from home. As a given name it arrived from the sound as much as the stories: for boys it sits beside Terrance, for girls beside Terra and Tara. It is a name that places a child on this planet, which is where every child begins.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No source records the origin of Terran as a first name. It matches the science-fiction word for an Earth-dweller, from Latin terra, and it sits near Terrance for boys and Terra for girls; the record does not say which a family meant.
Pronouncing Terran
TAIR-un
Stress on the first syllable; it rhymes with Karen in most American speech.
Nicknames for Terran
Limited
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
- 1945
- Most boys named
- 199251 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1677reached in 1992
- Change vs 2024
- +25.0%15 in 2025, from 12
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.
Terran in other languages
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas.
Terrans among us
people named Terran are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 113,872 born in 2025 was named Terran
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Sandeep test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Terran's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Sandeep climbed just as high around 1976, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Sandeep's path sketches the road Terran is walking now.
Terran sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Terran beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Terran in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It is short and easy to say.
- Terry is a ready short form.
- It works for a boy or a girl.
- Science fiction fans will hear the genre word.
- Most children given it are boys; a girl named Terran may be taken for a boy on paper.
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What they receive
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Terran
Masculine · #5861 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Terrans are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,500 people named Terran are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Terran in 2025?
- Terran ranks #5861 among US boy names in 2025, with 15 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Terran?
- About 1 in every 113,872 US boys born in 2025 was named Terran — 15 in all.
- Will my child share the name Terran with classmates?
- Terran will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Terran
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Eber#5861 · Wilton#5861 · Ruby#5861 · Stacy#5861 · Garner#5861 · Caldwell#5861 · Severin#5861 · Newton#5861
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Terran? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Terran and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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