Terasa
A feminine name derived from the Greek word "thera", meaning "harvest".
Name Census estimates that about 316 living Americans carry the first name Terasa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Terasa today is around 55 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Terasa births was 1970 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Terasa. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
316
~ 1 in 1,084,666 Americans
Peak year
1970
22 babies that year
Average age
55
years old
1998 SSA rank
#13,964
Tracked since 1952
Census
Terasa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 538 people with the first name Terasa, which placed it at #19,583 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#19,583
National first-name rank
People counted
538
538 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
58.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Terasa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Terasa is White at 58.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (22.5%) and Black (12.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Terasa described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Terasa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.9% · 317
- Hispanic or Latino22.5% · 121
- Black or African American12.1% · 65
- Two or more races3.9% · 21
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 6
Popularity
Terasa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Terasa from the 1950s through to the 1990s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 151 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Terasa by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Terasa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Terasas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Terasa
Terasa is a feminine given name with roots tracing back to ancient Greek origins. The name is derived from the Greek word "therasia," which translates to "harvest" or "reaping." Its earliest known use dates back to the 4th century BC, when it was commonly given to girls born during the autumn harvest season in various regions of ancient Greece.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Terasa can be found in a fragment of a Greek play from the 3rd century BC, where a character bears this moniker. Additionally, the name is mentioned in several ancient Greek texts and inscriptions, suggesting its widespread use across the Greek-speaking world during classical antiquity.
In the early centuries of the Common Era, the name Terasa gradually spread beyond the confines of ancient Greece, gaining popularity in various regions of the Byzantine Empire. One notable historical figure bearing this name was Terasa of Constantinople, a renowned Byzantine scholar and philosopher who lived in the 6th century AD and authored several influential treatises on logic and metaphysics.
As the centuries progressed, the name Terasa found its way into various European cultures, particularly in regions influenced by the Byzantine or Eastern Orthodox traditions. In the 12th century, Terasa of Novgorod, a Russian noblewoman and patron of the arts, was known for her patronage of several prominent monasteries and churches in the medieval city of Novgorod.
During the Renaissance period, the name Terasa gained further recognition, especially in Italy. Terasa Strozzi, born in 1473 in Florence, was a celebrated poet and intellectual who hosted a prominent literary salon frequented by some of the most esteemed scholars and artists of the time, including Niccolò Machiavelli and Michelangelo Buonarroti.
In the 17th century, Terasa de la Cerda y Aragón, a Spanish noblewoman and renowned philanthropist, was widely admired for her charitable works and dedication to improving the lives of the underprivileged in Madrid and its surrounding regions.
These are just a few examples of the historical figures who have borne the name Terasa throughout the centuries, showcasing its enduring presence and varied cultural influences across Europe and the Mediterranean region.
People
Terasa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Terasa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Terasa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Terasa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 316 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Terasa going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,084,666 US residents.
Is Terasa a common name?
We classify Terasa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 367 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Terasa most popular?
The single biggest year for Terasa was 1970, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Terasa is about 55 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Terasa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 538 people with the name Terasa, or 0.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,583 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Terasa in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Terasa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Terasa appears almost entirely female. Of the 542 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Terasa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Terasa is White at 58.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (22.5%) and Black (12.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Terasa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Terasa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.9% (317 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Terasa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Terasa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Terasa in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Terasa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Terasa in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Terasa can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Terasa?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.