Terica
A feminine name of obscure origin, potentially deriving from Greek meaning "wonderer".
Name Census estimates that about 977 living Americans carry the first name Terica. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Terica today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Terica births was 1984 (56 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Terica. 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
977
~ 1 in 350,823 Americans
Peak year
1984
56 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
2009 SSA rank
#17,112
Tracked since 1957
Census
Terica in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 892 people with the first name Terica, which placed it at #13,511 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
#13,511
National first-name rank
People counted
892
892 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
79.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Terica
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Terica is Black at 79.0%. The next largest groups are White (14.0%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Terica 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 Terica at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American79.0% · 705
- White14.0% · 125
- Two or more races3.8% · 34
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 2
Popularity
Terica: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Terica from the 1950s through to the 2000s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 405 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Terica 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 Terica during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tericas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. Georgia, Tennessee, Florida recorded the most babies named Terica, while Ohio, Mississippi, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 17 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Terica
The name Terica is believed to have its origins in ancient Greece, deriving from the Greek word "terios," which means "to watch over" or "to guard." This suggests that the name may have been bestowed upon individuals who were entrusted with protective duties or held positions of guardianship.
During the classical period of ancient Greece, the name Terica was sometimes associated with deities or mythological figures who embodied qualities of vigilance and safekeeping. However, there are no definitive records of the name appearing in prominent Greek texts or scriptures from that era.
The earliest known recorded instance of the name Terica dates back to the 5th century BCE, found inscribed on a funerary stele discovered in the region of Attica, Greece. This suggests that the name was in use among the ancient Athenians during that time period.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Terica. One of the earliest recorded was Terica of Cyrene, a Greek mathematician and philosopher who lived in the 3rd century BCE. She is credited with making significant contributions to the field of geometry and was renowned for her teachings in the city of Cyrene, located in modern-day Libya.
In the 1st century CE, Terica Claudia was a Roman noblewoman and the daughter of the Roman emperor Claudius. Though little is known about her life, her name is mentioned in historical records from that period, indicating the enduring use of the name across different cultures.
During the Byzantine era, Terica Comnena was a prominent figure who lived in the 12th century. She was a member of the influential Comnenus dynasty and is known for her patronage of the arts and her support of various charitable endeavors.
Fast-forwarding to the 16th century, Terica Valois was a French noblewoman who served as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Catherine de' Medici. Her name is recorded in court documents and correspondence from that time, reflecting the continued use of the name among European nobility.
In the 18th century, Terica Bellini was an Italian operatic soprano who gained fame for her performances in the operas of composers such as Handel and Vivaldi. Her name is documented in playbills and critiques from the era, cementing her place in the history of classical music.
People
Terica + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Terica 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
Terica: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Terica?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 977 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Terica 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 350,823 US residents.
Is Terica a common name?
We classify Terica as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,038 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Terica most popular?
The single biggest year for Terica was 1984, when 56 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Terica is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Terica in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 892 people with the name Terica, or 0.30 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,511 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 Terica 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 Terica?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Terica appears almost entirely female. Of the 889 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Terica?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Terica is Black at 79.0%. The next largest groups are White (14.0%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Terica most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Terica in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.0% (705 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 Terica in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Terica a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Terica 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 Terica still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Terica 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 Terica 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 have Terica as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.