Terry
About Terry
One of the first breakaway unisex baby names, Terry, used independently since the days of Terry and the Pirates. Popular in the mid-20th-century, it has fallen out of favor in recent years, replaced by Tommy, Sonny, and Ozzy.
Terry emerged as a diminutive of Terence which derived from a Roman family name of uncertain meaning. Possibilities however include "soft" or "one who threshes". Alternatively, it could be an English contraction of the French Thierry, a variation on Theodoric, meaning "ruler of the people".
Pronounced TER-ee.
As of October 2026, Terry ranked #1116 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #26 in 1947, Nameberry popularity #520.
Editor: Pamela Redmond
Sources: US popularity data is from the Social Security Administration. Meanings and origins are from Nameberry's name references.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #625 | 423 | 220.2 |
| 2015 | #664 | 388 | 202.4 |
| 2016 | #666 | 388 | 204.5 |
| 2017 | #691 | 358 | 193.4 |
| 2018 | #755 | 314 | 172.9 |
| 2019 | #843 | 267 | 148.8 |
| 2020 | #933 | 238 | 137.9 |
| 2021 | #1,028 | 214 | 122.3 |
| 2022 | #978 | 231 | 132.3 |
| 2023 | #1,065 | 204 | 119.3 |
| 2024 | #1,186 | 174 | 101 |
| 2025 | #1,116 | 192 | 112.4 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Terry.
- Darnell
- Stacey
- Karol
- Curt
- Kelsey
- Tommie
- Jan
- Greg
- Tracy
- Colbert
- Richmond
- Oto
- Scotty
- Lindsay
- Rob
- Thompson
- Ronaldo
- Al
- Carmin
- Denny
Terry on lists
Famous Terrys
- Terry Paxton Bradshaw
American NFL player and actor
- Terence "Terry" Pratchett
English novelist
- Terence Richard "Terry" McAuliffe
American politician; 72nd Governor of Virginia
- Terry Kiser
American actor
- Terry Gene Bollea aka Hulk Hogan
American pro wrestler
- Terrence "Terry" Funk
American pro wrestler
- Terence Graham Parry "Terry" Jones
Welsh actor and comedian
- Michael Terence "Terry" Wogan
English radio presenter
- Terence Frederick "Terry" Venables
English footballer
- Terence Dean "Terry" Brooks
American novelist
- Terrence Jon "Terry" Francona
American baseball manager
- Terry Goodkind
American novelist
- Terry Zwigoff
American filmmaker
- Terence Charles "Terry" Yorath
Welsh footballer
- Terry
Thomas (born Thomas Terry Hoar Stevens), English actor
- Terry Chen
Canadian actor
- Terry Wayne Fator
American ventriloquist of"America's Got Talent"
- Terence "Terry" Christian
TV and radio presenter
- Terrence "Terry" Sweeney
American actor and comedian
- Terrence "Terry" Richardson
American photographer
- Terrence Vance "Terry" Gilliam
American,born British actor and comedian
- Terrance Stanley "Terry" Fox
Canadian athlete, humanitarian, activist
- Terry Alan Crews
American actor and football player
- Terry O'Quinn (born Terrance Quinn)
American actor
Terry in pop culture
- Terry Malloy
main character in film "On the Waterfront"
- Terrence "Terry" McGinnis aka Batman
main character in animated series "Batman Beyond"
- Terry
character in animated series "Aqua Teen Hunger Force"
- Terry Bernadino
character on TV's "Reno 911!"
- Terry Bogard
character in video games Fatal Fury and King of Fighters
- Terry Boot
minor character in the "Harry Potter" series
- Terence Daniel "Terry" Collier
character in "The Likely Lads" series
- Terry Kimple
a character on TV's "The Cleveland Show"
- Terry Lee
main character in comic strip Terry and the Pirates
- Terry McCann
character on TV series "Minder"
- Terry McScotty
a main character in anime "Battle B,Daman"
- Terry Bellefleur
character on TV's "True Blood"
- Terry Fawles
character in video game "Ace Attorney"
- Terry Jeffords
Terry Crews' loveable character in TV series Brooklyn Nine Nine