Terriel
A unique feminine name derived from Terra, meaning earth or land.
Name Census estimates that about 33 living Americans carry the first name Terriel. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 86.5% of registrations being male. The average person named Terriel today is around 48 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Terriel births was 1986 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Terriel. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Terriel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
33
~ 1 in 10,386,495 Americans
Peak year
1986
8 babies that year
Average age
48
years old
1986 SSA rank
#5,284
Tracked since 1952
Census
Terriel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 149 people with the first name Terriel, which placed it at #45,514 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
#45,514
National first-name rank
People counted
149
149 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
65.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Terriel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Terriel is Black at 65.8%. The next largest groups are White (27.5%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Terriel 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 Terriel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American65.8% · 98
- White27.5% · 41
- Two or more races4.7% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Terriel
Terriel leans heavily male at 86.5% of total registrations, but 5 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Terriel as a male name
- Ranked #5,284 in 1986
- 8 male births in 1986
- Peak: 1986 (8 births)
Terriel as a female name
- Ranked #19,960 in 2009
- 5 female births in 2009
- Peak: 2009 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Terriel on both sides of the split. Of the 149 people counted with this name, 89 were male (59.7%) and 60 were female (40.3%).
Popularity
Terriel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Terriel from the 1950s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 12 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Terriel remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Terriel 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 Terriel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Terriel
The given name Terriel has its roots in ancient Sumerian culture, dating back to the 3rd millennium BC. It is believed to have originated from the Sumerian word "ter," which means "earth" or "land," and the suffix "-iel," which was a common ending in Sumerian names and denoted a connection to a deity or divine being.
One of the earliest recorded instances of this name can be found in cuneiform tablets from the ancient city of Ur, where a high-ranking official named Terriel-ili was mentioned as serving under the reign of King Shulgi around 2094-2047 BC. These tablets provide evidence of the name's existence and its association with positions of authority in the Sumerian society.
During the later Babylonian period, around 1800-1600 BC, the name Terriel was also found inscribed on clay tablets and seal impressions. It is speculated that the name may have been used to honor the goddess of the earth and fertility, Ninhursag, or to signify a person's connection to the land and agricultural pursuits.
In the ancient Hebrew tradition, a similar name, "Teriel," appears in the Book of Enoch, an ancient Jewish religious work from the 3rd century BC. This name is attributed to one of the fallen angels mentioned in the text, possibly indicating a connection to the earth or earthly realm.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Terriel:
1. Terriel the Scribe (c. 2200 BC) - A renowned Sumerian scribe and scholar from the city of Nippur, known for his exceptional skill in cuneiform writing and literary works.
2. Terriel of Sippar (c. 1700 BC) - A high-ranking priest and astronomer from the ancient city of Sippar, renowned for his contributions to the study of celestial bodies and their movements.
3. Terriel the Warrior (c. 1200 BC) - A legendary Mesopotamian warrior and military leader, known for his bravery and strategic prowess on the battlefield.
4. Terriel of Alexandria (c. 200 AD) - A Greek scholar and philosopher from the city of Alexandria, known for his writings on metaphysics and the nature of the universe.
5. Terriel the Architect (c. 900 AD) - A renowned architect and engineer from the Islamic Golden Age, credited with designing and overseeing the construction of several magnificent mosques and palaces in the Middle East.
While the name Terriel has ancient origins and historical significance, its usage has been relatively rare throughout the centuries. However, it remains a unique and intriguing name that carries a connection to the earth, ancient civilizations, and various cultural and religious traditions.
People
Terriel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Terriel 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
Terriel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Terriel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 33 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Terriel 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 10,386,495 US residents.
Is Terriel a common name?
We classify Terriel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 48% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 37 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Terriel most popular?
The single biggest year for Terriel was 1986, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Terriel is about 48 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Terriel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 149 people with the name Terriel, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #45,514 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 Terriel 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 Terriel?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Terriel on both sides of the split. Of the 149 people counted with this name, 89 were male (59.7%) and 60 were female (40.3%). 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 Terriel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Terriel is Black at 65.8%. The next largest groups are White (27.5%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Terriel most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Terriel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.8% (98 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 Terriel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Terriel a male name?
Yes, 86.5% of people registered as Terriel 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 Terriel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Terriel 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 Terriel 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 the name Terriel?
See how many people have the name Terriel on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.