NameCensus.

UK surname

Terry

Derived from the French place name Thierry, meaning "ruler of the people."

In the 1881 census there were 7,660 people recorded with the Terry surname, ranking it #555 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 10,388, ranked #624, down from #555 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard and Bradford. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Dover, Ashford and Chichester.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Terry is 11,143 in 1998. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 35.6%.

1881 census count

7,660

Ranked #555

Modern count

10,388

2016, ranked #624

Peak year

1998

11,143 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Terry had 7,660 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #555 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 10,388 in 2016, ranked #624.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 10,269 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Terry surname distribution map

The map shows where the Terry surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Terry surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Terry over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 4,350 #650
1861 historical 3,639 #770
1881 historical 7,660 #555
1891 historical 7,071 #635
1901 historical 9,539 #549
1911 historical 10,269 #479
1997 modern 10,734 #576
1998 modern 11,143 #575
1999 modern 11,126 #581
2000 modern 10,933 #588
2001 modern 10,692 #588
2002 modern 10,851 #592
2003 modern 10,554 #594
2004 modern 10,534 #594
2005 modern 10,273 #609
2006 modern 10,180 #612
2007 modern 10,246 #616
2008 modern 10,278 #616
2009 modern 10,476 #621
2010 modern 10,676 #622
2011 modern 10,577 #619
2012 modern 10,367 #618
2013 modern 10,481 #623
2014 modern 10,477 #626
2015 modern 10,378 #626
2016 modern 10,388 #624

Geography

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Where Terrys are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard, Bradford and Croydon, Battersea (Penge), Sanderstead. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Dover, Ashford, Chichester and Medway. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 London parishes London 1
2 London parishes London 3
3 Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard Nottinghamshire
4 Bradford Yorkshire, West Riding
5 Croydon, Battersea (Penge), Sanderstead Surrey

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Dover 011 Dover
2 Ashford 005 Ashford
3 Chichester 013 Chichester
4 Medway 022 Medway
5 Ashford 006 Ashford

Forenames

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First names often paired with Terry

These lists show first names that appear often with the Terry surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Terry

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Terry, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities

Group

Rural Amenity

Nationally, the Terry surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Terry household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

This Group comprises older parents or retirees, with no resident dependent children, and with the lowest residential densities in this Supergroup. Predominantly UK-born, residents typically live in detached houses, although others do live in semi-detached and terraced properties. The level of multiple car ownership is the highest in this Supergroup. Most houses are owner occupied although social renting is also present. Many concentrations occur in high amenity rural locations, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Wider pattern

Pervasive throughout the UK, members of this Supergroup typically own (or are buying) their detached, semi-detached or terraced homes. They are also typically educated to A Level/Highers or degree level and work in skilled or professional occupations. Typically born in the UK, some families have children, although the median adult age is above 45 and some property has become under-occupied after children have left home. This Supergroup is pervasive not only in suburban locations, but also in neighbourhoods at or beyond the edge of cities that adjoin rural parts of the country.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Young Families and Mainstream Employment

Group

Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs

Within London, Terry is most associated with areas classed as Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs, part of Young Families and Mainstream Employment. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Mainly concentrated in suburban areas, these terraced and semi-detached developments are less overcrowded than the Supergroup average, and resident households are more likely to own two or more cars. There are fewer residents aged 25-44, and a larger share of residents employed in administrative and secretarial occupations. Residents are more likely to have been born in the UK, less likely to have been born in the EU or Africa, and much less likely to self-identify as Bangladeshi.

Wider London pattern

Many families in these neighbourhoods have young children. Housing is principally in the social rented sector, in terraced or semi-detached units. While over-all residential densities are low, overcrowding is also prevalent locally. Residents are drawn from a range of ethnic minorities, with many identifying as Black and above average numbers born in Africa. Numbers identifying as of Chinese, Indian or White ethnicity are below average. Levels of proficiency in English are below average. Levels of separation or divorce and incidence of disability are both above average. Education is typically limited to Level 1, 2, or apprenticeship qualifications. Few residents work in professional or managerial occupations but the employment structure is otherwise diverse: it includes skilled trades, caring, leisure and other service occupations, sales and customer service occupations, construction, and work as process, plant, and machine operatives.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Terry is most concentrated in decile 8 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

8
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Terry falls in decile 6 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

6
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Terry is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Terry, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Terry

The surname Terry originated in medieval England, deriving from an Old French word "terrier" which referred to someone who worked on land or cultivated the soil. It is believed to have emerged around the 12th century in the regions of Normandy and Brittany in France.

Terry is thought to be an occupational surname, initially given to individuals who worked as farmers, land workers, or held positions related to the management of estates or land holdings. The name's earliest known recording dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Terrie" and "Terricus".

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Terry surname can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1190, which mentions a "Radulphus Terri". Another early record is from the Curia Regis Rolls of Northamptonshire in 1207, listing a "Willelmus Teri".

The surname Terry has undergone various spelling variations over the centuries, including Terrey, Terri, Tery, Torry, and Torrey. These variations often reflected regional dialects and local pronunciations.

Notable historical figures with the surname Terry include:

1. Edward Terry (1590-1668), an English traveler and writer who published a travelogue about his journey to India in the 17th century. 2. Samuel Terry (1779-1838), an English inventor and manufacturer who pioneered the development of the first successful crimping machine for textiles. 3. Alfred Howe Terry (1827-1890), an American soldier who served as a Union general during the American Civil War and later played a role in the Great Sioux War of 1876-1877. 4. Milton Spenser Terry (1840-1914), an American Methodist theologian and author who wrote extensively on biblical hermeneutics and Christian doctrine. 5. Ellen Terry (1847-1928), a renowned English stage actress who became one of the leading Shakespearean performers of her time.

The Terry surname has been associated with various place names in England, such as Terry's Green in Suffolk, Terry's Hill in Staffordshire, and Terry's Leys in Worcestershire, indicating its longstanding presence in different regions of the country.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Terry families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Terry surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Kent leads with 1,481 Terrys recorded in 1881 and an index of 5.81x.

County Total Index
Kent 1,481 5.81x
Yorkshire 1,050 1.42x
Middlesex 1,036 1.39x
Surrey 836 2.30x
Sussex 534 4.24x
Warwickshire 455 2.42x
Lancashire 339 0.38x
Hampshire 209 1.37x
Nottinghamshire 209 2.08x
Staffordshire 167 0.66x
Durham 135 0.61x
Buckinghamshire 118 2.61x
Essex 115 0.78x
Devon 109 0.70x
Worcestershire 96 0.98x
Oxfordshire 66 1.43x
Herefordshire 61 1.99x
Berkshire 60 1.07x
Northumberland 51 0.46x
Hertfordshire 44 0.85x
Cheshire 42 0.25x
Gloucestershire 41 0.28x
Northamptonshire 40 0.57x
Derbyshire 35 0.30x
Suffolk 25 0.27x
Norfolk 24 0.21x
Lincolnshire 23 0.19x
Dorset 22 0.45x
Lanarkshire 19 0.08x
Flintshire 17 0.85x
Glamorgan 17 0.13x
Midlothian 17 0.17x
Cornwall 16 0.19x
Channel Islands 15 0.68x
Ayrshire 14 0.25x
Somerset 12 0.10x
Fife 10 0.23x
Leicestershire 9 0.11x
Monmouthshire 9 0.17x
Dumfriesshire 8 0.49x
Inverness-shire 8 0.36x
Wiltshire 8 0.12x
Clackmannanshire 7 1.14x
Anglesey 6 0.45x
Bedfordshire 5 0.13x
Isle of Man 5 0.36x
Montgomeryshire 5 0.29x
Perthshire 4 0.12x
Roxburghshire 4 0.30x
Royal Navy 4 0.45x
Shropshire 4 0.06x
Brecknockshire 3 0.20x
Cumberland 2 0.03x
Cambridgeshire 1 0.02x
East Lothian 1 0.10x
Renfrewshire 1 0.02x
Rutland 1 0.18x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Aston in Warwickshire leads with 217 Terrys recorded in 1881 and an index of 4.18x.

Place Total Index
Aston 217 4.18x
Brighton 125 4.92x
Birmingham 121 1.93x
Islington London 108 1.49x
Lambeth 105 1.61x
Bermondsey 102 4.59x
Newington 92 3.34x
St Pancras London 91 1.51x
Camberwell 81 1.70x
Batley 74 10.52x
St Marylebone London 69 1.73x
Bethnal Green London 67 2.07x
Hackney London 65 1.55x
North Bierley 65 16.27x
Nottingham St Mary 63 2.42x
Bradford 61 3.41x
Paddington London 59 2.15x
Battersea 56 2.04x
Kensington London 56 1.35x
Croydon 54 2.67x
Bowling 53 7.23x
Maidstone 53 6.98x
Wolverhampton 53 2.73x
Mile End Old Town 52 4.41x
Wrotham 52 61.61x
Eastbourne 50 8.63x
Lydd 50 91.66x
Shoreditch London 50 1.54x
Chatham 44 6.28x
Portsea 43 1.43x
Kings Norton 39 4.46x
Keighley 37 4.69x
Bulwell 36 16.45x
Ossett Cum Gawthorpe 36 13.62x
Sevenoaks 36 17.43x
Leeds 34 0.81x
Newchurch 34 4.69x
Lewisham 33 2.43x
Arnold 32 21.78x
Margate St John Baptist 32 6.86x
Folkestone 31 6.27x
Faversham 30 12.35x
Hammersmith London 30 1.63x
Horton In Bradford 30 2.60x
Tonbridge 30 3.26x
West Ham 30 0.92x
Deptford St Paul 29 1.48x
Bromley London 28 1.70x
Chelsea London 28 1.24x
Westbourne 28 44.67x
Gravesend 27 12.52x
Hucknall Torkard 27 10.58x
Soothill 27 10.10x
Woodchurch 27 85.12x
Bletchingley 26 54.77x
Clerkenwell London 26 1.48x
Deal 26 11.96x
Dover St Mary Virgin 26 10.54x
Hougham 26 17.16x
Shelf 26 36.79x
Ealing 25 3.75x
Fulham London 24 2.22x
Reigate Foreign 24 6.09x
Snodland 24 33.22x
Coventry St Michael 23 3.80x
Eastry 23 65.10x
Newhaven 23 22.49x
Ashford 22 8.87x
Aylesbury 22 11.00x
Charlton 22 13.00x
East Grinstead 22 12.35x
Manningham 22 2.41x
Tottenham 22 1.85x
Buckland In Dover 21 24.87x
Canterbury St Mary 21 12.28x
Lower Booths 21 13.23x
Rochester St Margaret 21 7.82x
Tormoham 21 3.19x
Poplar London 20 1.42x
Warrington 20 1.90x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Terry surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 455
Sarah 282
Elizabeth 266
Jane 164
Ann 139
Emma 137
Annie 127
Ellen 123
Alice 121
Eliza 114
Emily 108
Hannah 80
Harriet 68
Louisa 65
Fanny 60
Martha 57
Margaret 53
Edith 52
Ada 50
Charlotte 50
Florence 49
Kate 44
Caroline 41
Clara 40
Lucy 36
Frances 35
Maria 35
Esther 34
Rose 34
Harriett 33
Anne 32
Sophia 29
Catherine 28
Susan 26
Agnes 23
Julia 22
Amelia 20
Rebecca 19
Amy 17
Minnie 17
Isabella 16
Henrietta 13
Matilda 13
Rhoda 13
Ruth 12
Selina 12
Eleanor 10
Ethel 10
Jessie 9
Lydia 9

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Terry surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
William 502
John 364
George 322
James 233
Thomas 232
Charles 178
Henry 175
Edward 110
Alfred 109
Joseph 105
Frederick 89
Arthur 75
Richard 66
Walter 65
Albert 61
Robert 57
Samuel 49
Harry 46
Frank 40
Ernest 39
Edwin 33
Herbert 31
David 25
Benjamin 21
Wm. 21
Francis 20
Stephen 19
Thos. 19
Fred 14
Daniel 13
Isaac 13
Edmund 12
Mark 11
Percy 11
Michael 10
Peter 10
Fredrick 8
Jesse 8
Sidney 8
Christopher 7
Edgar 7
Geo. 7
Matthew 7
Sam 7
Tom 7
Chas. 6
Horace 6
Amos 5
Fredk. 5
Phillip 5

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Terry households.

FAQ

Terry surname: questions and answers

How common was the Terry surname in 1881?

In 1881, 7,660 people were recorded with the Terry surname. That placed it at #555 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Terry surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 10,388 in 2016. That gives Terry a modern rank of #624.

What does the Terry surname mean?

Derived from the French place name Thierry, meaning "ruler of the people."

What does the Terry map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Terry bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.