Terence

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Terrence in US United States, CA Canada, GY Guyana and 7 more.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 2 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Terence is also recorded as 8 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish given name52K records spelled Terence33 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, United States, Brazil, Philippines

  Languages: Spanish, French, Portuguese

  Also written Terencio, Térence, Terêncio, Terentius, Tèrence

• a separate given name13K records spelled Terence2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, India, United Kingdom, Canada

  Also written Térence

• Indonesian given name2.8K records spelled Terence3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Malaysia, Indonesia, United States, Philippines

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay

  Also written Térence

• Finnish given name1.5K records spelled Terence4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United Kingdom, Finland, United States, Hungary

  Languages: Finnish, Hungarian, Estonian

  Also written Terentius

• Russian given name913 records spelled Terence13 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Russia

  Languages: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian

  Also written Terrence, Теренс, Tarence, Terens, Тэрэнс

• Lao surname860 records spelled Terence13 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Laos, Thailand, United States, United Kingdom

  Languages: Lao, Thai

  Also written Teran, Teràn, เทอเรน, Tërän, Terán

• Korean given name645 records spelled Terence5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, South Korea, United Kingdom, Malaysia

  Also written Terrence, 테렌스, Térence, 테런스

• Croatian given name550 records spelled Terence15 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United Kingdom, United States, Bulgaria, Croatia

  Languages: Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian

  Also written Terens, Térence, Теренций, Terencij, Теренс

57 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Terence is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, A male given name from Latin, popular in the U.K. in the mid-twentieth century.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In English, Roman playwright; pers. name

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

• In Latin, Latin: 'smooth, tender'

  as a name·African Names

• In French, Origine latine, du nom Terentius, famille patricienne romaine.

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

• In German, ) Terrence ['terans]: aus dem

  as a name·DUDEN Lexikon der Vornamen

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 120 years between 1885–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Joseph Needhamb. 1900GBnot in their usual nameBritish biochemist, historian and sinologist (1900–1995)
• Terence Youngb. 1915GBBritish film director and screenwriter (1915–1994)
• Spike Milliganb. 1918GBnot in their usual nameBritish actor (1918-2002)
• Terence Alexanderb. 1923GBBritish actor (1923–2009)
• Terry Jonesb. 1942GBnot in their usual nameWelsh actor, comedian, director, historian and writer (1942–2020)
• Terry Venablesb. 1943GBnot in their usual nameEnglish football player and manager (1943–2023)
• Terence McKennab. 1946USAmerican ethnobotanist and mystic (1946–2000)
• Geezer Butlerb. 1949GBnot in their usual nameEnglish bassist (born 1949)
• Terry McAuliffeb. 1957USnot in their usual nameAmerican businessman and politician
• Terence Taob. 1975AUAustralian-American mathematician

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 605 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Terence?

We estimate roughly 56 thousand people bear Terence (counting its spellings and scripts) across 7 countries in our records.

In which country does Terence have the most bearers?

Terence is most frequently recorded in the United Kingdom, where it is most often spelled terence.

Where is Terence most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Terence is densest in Guyana — about 1 in 695 people — even though United Kingdom holds more of our records for it.

How common is Terence compared with other names?

In the United Kingdom, Terence is the 244th most common given name of 369,273 given names recorded there.

Is Terence a male or female name?

Terence is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Terence mean?

Recorded meaning: Latin name of uncertain meaning; used in Ireland to anglicise Turlough.