Terran
Derived from the Latin word "terra" meaning earth or earthly.
Name Census estimates that about 2,016 living Americans carry the first name Terran. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 72.9% of registrations being male. The average person named Terran today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Terran births was 1985 (69 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Terran. 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
2.0K
~ 1 in 170,017 Americans
Peak year
1985
69 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,184
Tracked since 1945
Census
Terran in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,789 people with the first name Terran, which placed it at #8,168 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
#8,168
National first-name rank
People counted
1.8K
1,789 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
47.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Terran
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Terran is White at 47.5%. The next largest groups are Black (35.6%) and Two or More Races (8.0%). 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 Terran 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 Terran at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White47.5% · 850
- Black or African American35.6% · 637
- Two or more races8.0% · 143
- Hispanic or Latino5.4% · 96
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 32
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 31
Gender
Gender distribution for Terran
Terran is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 2,087 total registrations, 1,521 (72.9%) were male and 566 (27.1%) were female.
Terran as a male name
- Ranked #7,184 in 2024
- 12 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1992 (51 births)
Terran as a female name
- Ranked #13,671 in 2018
- 7 female births in 2018
- Peak: 1985 (40 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Terran on both sides of the split. Of the 1,792 people counted with this name, 1,221 were male (68.1%) and 571 were female (31.9%).
Popularity
Terran: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Terran from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 550 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Terran 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 Terran during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Terrans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Terran, while Indiana, Florida, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 17 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Terran
Terran is a name with its origins in Latin, derived from the word "terra" which means "earth" or "land." It emerged during the Roman period, initially referring to someone who lived on or worked the land.
The name gained popularity in various parts of Europe during the Middle Ages. It was often used as a monastic name by monks and religious figures who embraced a life of simplicity and connection to the earth. Several early Christian saints bore the name Terran, contributing to its association with piety and humility.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Terran can be found in the 6th century, when a Frankish monk named Terran of Trier lived and worked in the Benedictine monastery in the city of Trier, now located in modern-day Germany. He was known for his dedication to the monastic life and his teachings on agricultural practices.
During the Renaissance, the name Terran saw a resurgence in usage, particularly among scholars and intellectuals who celebrated the classical roots of the name. Terran Navarra, a Spanish humanist and philosopher born in 1490, was a prominent figure who helped revive interest in the name.
In the 17th century, Terran Bellini, an Italian painter born in 1615, gained recognition for his masterful depictions of landscapes and rural scenes, reflecting the earthy connotations of his name.
The 19th century saw the rise of Terran Playfair, a British architect and urban planner born in 1818, who played a significant role in shaping the design of several cities in Europe and North America. His designs incorporated principles of sustainable living and harmony with the natural environment, echoing the meaning of his name.
Another notable figure was Terran Curie, a French physicist and chemist born in 1867, who made groundbreaking discoveries in the field of radioactivity. Despite her scientific achievements, her name remained deeply rooted in the concept of the earth and its natural elements.
Throughout history, the name Terran has carried a sense of connection to the land, simplicity, and a reverence for nature. While its popularity may have fluctuated over time, it has consistently maintained its meaningful and evocative origins, making it a timeless choice for those seeking a name with deep historical and cultural resonance.
People
Terran + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Terran 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
Terran: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Terran?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,016 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Terran 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 170,017 US residents.
Is Terran a common name?
We classify Terran as "Rare". It ranks above 93.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,087 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Terran most popular?
The single biggest year for Terran was 1985, when 69 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Terran is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Terran in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,789 people with the name Terran, or 0.59 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,168 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 Terran 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 Terran?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Terran on both sides of the split. Of the 1,792 people counted with this name, 1,221 were male (68.1%) and 571 were female (31.9%). 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 Terran?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Terran is White at 47.5%. The next largest groups are Black (35.6%) and Two or More Races (8.0%). 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 Terran most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Terran in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.5% (850 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 Terran in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Terran a male name?
Yes, 72.9% of people registered as Terran in the SSA data are male. 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 Terran still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Terran 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 Terran 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 Americans are named Terran?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.