Terris
Masculine
Terris is given to both — 837 boys and 143 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Terris ends in a letter pair that makes almost any name look Latin, and this one is not — the ending is doing work that has nothing to do with where the name came from.
How old is the name Terris?
Terris first appears in US birth records in 1945 — 80 years ago. The typical Terris alive today was born around 1981, making them about 44 years old. About 800 people named Terris are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Terris most popular?
Terris peaked in 1970, reaching #1658 nationally. See the whole 1970 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Terris
An s at the end of a man's name reads as classical to an English eye, because the Latin names English knows all end that way — Marcus, Julius, Augustus, Cassius. The effect is so reliable that American naming has used it deliberately for two centuries, attaching the ending to names that have no Latin in them at all and producing something that sounds older and more formal than it is. It is the same instinct that produced fake Latin in company names and mottoes. The sound carries authority in English regardless of what is underneath it, which is a fact about readers rather than about names.
Meaningnot established
Not established
It may be a surname, a clipped Terrence, or an American build of its decade. Terrence itself descends from a Roman family name whose meaning has never been recovered, so even the likeliest route ends in an unanswered question.
Pronouncing Terris
TER-iss
Two syllables, stress at the front, ending in a soft s.
Nicknames for Terris
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
- 1945
- Most boys named
- 197027 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1658reached in 1970
- Change vs 2014
- 0.0%7 in 2017, from 7
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.
Terriss among us
people named Terris 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
Terris 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
- It is short, firm and read correctly on sight.
- It sounds established rather than invented.
- It shortens to a familiar short form.
- Terris, Terrace and Terrell are all nearby and his will be heard as one of them.
- Most children with this spelling are boys, but a real minority are girls; either may be taken for the other.
- No origin can be established, so there is no meaning to pass on.
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Terris
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Terriss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Terris are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Terris in 2025?
- Terris is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Terris with classmates?
- Terris will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More T names
The most-given names starting with T, all years combined.
Thomas#34 · Timothy#203 · Tyler#219 · Terry#1115 · Theodore#4 · Travis#434 · Todd#1609 · Tony#783
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Terris? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Terris and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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