How common is the surname Terry?

87,000 people in the United States had the surname Terry in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 3,549 Americans. It ranked 361st of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Terry?

Jason Terry, American basketball player (born 1977), followed by Clark Terry.

Where is the surname Terry most common?

Wikidata records people named Terry in the United States and the United Kingdom.

How do you pronounce Terry?

Terry is /ˈtɛɹi/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Terry getting more or less common?

More common. 83,437 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 87,000 in 2010, up 4.3%.

What are other spellings of Terry?

Tarry, Torry, Teri, Terri and Terrie.

Is Terry also a first name?

Yes. Terry is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Terry

A patronymic surname, carried by 87,000 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈtɛɹi/ 2 syllables Soundex T600 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Terry is more common than 99.8% of them.

Origin

A surname originating as a patronymic from the medieval Norman given name Thierry, a cognate of the English Derek.

Terry is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 87,000 people named Terry in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 3,549 Americans. That is up 4.3% since 2000, when the Census counted 83,437.

#361

rank among US surnames

87,000

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+4.3%

change since 2000 (was #336)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#352	McDaniel	88,728	3,480
#353	Moran	88,615	3,484
#354	Parks	88,586	3,485
#355	Steele	88,230	3,499
#356	Vaughn	88,060	3,506
#357	Becker	87,859	3,514
#358	Holt	87,531	3,527

Who is named Terry

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

66% of people named Terry identified as white (not Hispanic), 27% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.7% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 66%
Black (not Hispanic) 27%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.7%
Two or more races 2.4%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.7%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Terrys

28 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Jason Terry
American basketball player (born 1977)
Clark Terry
American swing and bebop trumpeter (1920–2015)
John Terry
American actor, born 1950
Twanisha Terry
American sprinter, born 1999
Alice Terry
American actress (1899-1987)
Simon Terry
British archer (1974–2021)
Ethel Grey Terry
American actress (1882-1931)
Phillip Terry
American actor (1909–1993)
Lee Terry
American politician (born 1962)
Reyshawn Terry
American professional basketball player, born 1984
Lawrence Terry
American rower, born 1946
Lucy Terry
African American writer, poet (1730–1821)

Notable Terrys come mostly from the United States (26) and the United Kingdom (2).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Tarry
Torry
Teri
Terri
Terrie

Surnames that sound like Terry

Terry has the Soundex code T600, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code T600.

Questions

How common is the surname Terry?: 87,000 people in the United States had the surname Terry in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 3,549 Americans. It ranked 361st of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Terry?: In the 2010 Census, 66% of people named Terry identified as white (not Hispanic), and 27% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Terry?: Jason Terry, American basketball player (born 1977), followed by Clark Terry.
Where is the surname Terry most common?: Wikidata records people named Terry in the United States and the United Kingdom.
How do you pronounce Terry?: Terry is /ˈtɛɹi/, 2 syllables.
What type of surname is Terry?: Terry is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Terry getting more or less common?: More common. 83,437 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 87,000 in 2010, up 4.3%.
What are other spellings of Terry?: Tarry, Torry, Teri, Terri and Terrie.
Is Terry also a first name?: Yes. Terry is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.