girl's name
Terri
TER-ee
- Origin English
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 148,802
Northern Ireland
#435
2006 births
Terri shortens Teresa, whose meaning has never been established — harvester, summer and a Greek island are all proposed and none of them is settled. Terri now ranks 6184th and charts in only one market.
- Terri is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1959, when 8,810 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 174,520 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1922.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Terri over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1920s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1920s | 40 |
| 1930s | 180 |
| 1940s | 4,177 |
| 1950s | 46,604 |
| 1960s | 64,033 |
| 1970s | 19,821 |
| 1980s | 7,839 |
| 1990s | 2,695 |
| 2000s | 1,035 |
| 2010s | 430 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 173 |
What Terri means
Terri has no securely known meaning, because Teresa does not. Harvester, summer and an origin in the island of Therasia are all proposed, and none of them is established.
Where Terri comes from
Terri shortens Teresa, whose derivation is genuinely open — the Greek theros, summer, therizo, to harvest, and the island Therasia near Santorini are the standard proposals, and the name may simply predate all of them. It first appears in Spain and Portugal, which has led to suggestions of a pre-Roman Iberian source. Teresa of Ávila and Thérèse of Lisieux carried it into wide Catholic use. The -i ending on Terri is mid-century American, the same fashion that gave Vicki, Toni and Jodi.
Terri in use
Terri peaked in the United States in 1959, when 8,810 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It charts in exactly one of the six markets we track, at 6184th in the United States on 19 births, across 148,802 lifetime births. Our records carry it only from 1922, so it rose and fell inside a single century.
How popular is Terri?
In 2025, Terri was given to 19 babies in the United States. It is a rare choice.
Where Terri is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Terri
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Terri also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Terri over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Terri in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Terri
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Terri — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Terri
What does the name Terri mean?
Not known. Teresa's own meaning has never been established — harvester, summer and a Greek island are all proposed.
Is Terri short for Teresa or Terence?
Teresa. The masculine Terry usually shortens Terence, which is a separate Roman name.
Why the -i ending?
A mid-century American fashion, the same one that gave Vicki, Toni and Jodi.
How popular is Terri?
6184th in the United States, down from a 1959 peak of 8,783 births.
Is Terri a girl's or a boy's name?
Terri is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Terri?
Terri has 2 syllables.
Is Terri a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Terri currently ranks #6,184 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.