Boys' name · peaked in 1989
Terrell name popularity since 1925
37,571 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Terrell (4.2% girls, 95.8% boys). Half of them were born in 1988 or earlier, so the typical Terrell is about 38 years old in 2026. Terrell peaked in 1989 as the #259 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 37,571
- Named Terrell, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,538 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 95.8% boys
- 1,575 girls · 35,996 boys
- Most popular in
- Louisiana
- 3.07× its national share
Peak year is the year Terrell made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Terrell births per year, 1925–2025
1989 was the biggest year for Terrell both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1962 and 1967, Terrell became 1.7× more common, from 1 in 9,150 baby boys to 1 in 5,330.
- Steepest fall: Between 2018 and 2023, its share of baby boys fell by 46%, from 1 in 8,450 to 1 in 15,700.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Terrell's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Terrell.
Decade by decade
Babies named Terrell in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 0 | 200 | – |
| 1930s | 29 | 572 | #776 |
| 1940s | 179 | 1,517 | #519 |
| 1950s | 253 | 2,044 | #519 |
| 1960s | 302 | 2,559 | #492 |
| 1970s | 409 | 4,434 | #349 |
| 1980s | 253 | 7,916 | #255 |
| 1990s | 122 | 7,924 | #353 |
| 2000s | 28 | 5,141 | #482 |
| 2010s | 0 | 2,836 | #891 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 853 | #1,538 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
35.4% of babies named Terrell from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Millennial years (1981–1996). The full split by generation:
Where Terrell is most popular
The index compares Terrell's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Terrell.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | 3.07× | 1,817 |
| Georgia | 2.53× | 2,302 |
| District of Columbia | 2.39× | 363 |
| Maryland | 2.35× | 1,179 |
| Alabama | 2.29× | 1,335 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Terrell and were given to at least 1,000 boys from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Boys | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Terrell (this page) | 35,996 | 1989 |
| Terrill | 4,339 | 1975 |
| Terrel | 2,903 | 1989 |
| Terell | 2,695 | 1994 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Terrell's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Terrell.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Terrell (1989).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data