Terence

TEHR-uns

Latin clan name

"soft; thresher"

Terence Origin and Meaning

The name Terence is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "soft; thresher".

A name that seems to hail from the old Irish neighborhoods of Boston and New York, Terence actually dates back a lot further, to the time of a famous second-century poet, who started life as a North African enslaved man in the house of a Roman senator and it was also borne by several early saints.

Out of style for several years, Terence might be due for a comeback, much like his Irish crony Patrick. Spellings Terrance and Terrence now outperform the original. Off the list for a decade, Terence reached as high as Number 241 in the 1960s.

Though the exact meaning of Terence is unknown, suggestions include "soft" or "one who threshes", from the Sabine word terenus or the Latin terens respectively. It could also be considered the anglicized form of the Irish Toirdhealbhach, meaning "instigator".

Actor Steve McQueen was born Terence Steven McQueen and Terence is also the birth certificate name of Monty Python's Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones.

Terence Rank in US Top 1000

# 925 in the US

Terence Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 2336 on Nameberry

Terence Popularity

• 1865 Nameberry 2023
• 918 Unique 2019

20 Names Similar to Terence

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Terence.

• Thadeous
• Tolly
• Rondie
• Draxler
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• Lorence
• Roís
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• Brencis
• Boswell
• Ameer
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• Rolfe
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Famous People Named Terence

• Terence ancient Roman playwright
• Terence Stamp English actor
• Terence Rattigan English playwright
• Terence Trent D'Arby American singer,songwriter
• Terence Blanchard American jazz trumpeter
• Terence Young British film director
• Terence McKenna American philosopher and psychonaut
• Terence Richard McAuliffe 72nd Governor of Virginia

Terence in Pop Culture

• Terence Mann character in the film "Field of Dreams," played by James Earl Jones
• Terence male fairy in movie "Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure"
• Terence O'Connor main character in G. A. Henty's, With Moore and Corunna, and, Under Wellington's Command