How Many People Are Named Terry Watson?
There are approximately 319 people named Terry Watson living in the United States today. That makes this name combination uncommon, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 1,074,465 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Terry with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Watson. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census background data where it is available.
Estimated People with This Name
319
1 in 1,074,465 Americans
Combination Rarity
Uncommon
First Name
View full profileTerry
Last Name
View full profileWatson
Terry: Popularity Over Time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Terry. The peak year was 1955 with 20,939 births. The average person named Terry today is 63 years old.
Ancestry of the First Name Terry
In the 2020 Census, the first name Terry was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (80.36%). The next largest recorded groups were Black (12.85%) and Two or More Races (2.68%).
These percentages describe the people who had the first name Terry in the 2020 Census. They do not tell you the deeper origin or meaning of the name itself.
Read this as a snapshot of who already had the name in 2020, not as a trend line. The SSA chart above is still the better way to see how Terry rose or fell over time.
Ancestry of the Watson Surname
The surname Watson was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White in the 2020 Census.
This is a self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people who had the surname Watson in the published Census surname tables. It gives useful context around who was recorded with the name, but it does not tell the full family history of every Boone line.
How we calculated this
The first name "Terry" has an estimated frequency of 0.115% among living Americans, based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024 adjusted for mortality using CDC 2023 life tables.
The surname "Watson" appears at a rate of 81.28 per 100,000 people in the 2020 U.S. Census.
We do not use the Census first-name snapshot for the main estimate because it is only published once every 10 years. The latest public first-name Census file is from 2020, which is already 6 years old. SSA birth records plus CDC survival data give a better current estimate of how many people with the first name Terry are likely to be alive now.
Multiplying these frequencies against the U.S. population of ~343 million gives 319 estimated people. This assumes first names and last names are statistically independent. Full methodology.
Other people named Terry
Other people with the surname Watson
Terry Watson: Questions and Answers
How many people are named Terry Watson?
We estimate approximately 319 people named Terry Watson are alive in the United States today. The first name Terry is shared by 392,854 Americans, and the surname Watson is shared by 278,604.
How rare is the name Terry Watson?
This name combination is classified as Uncommon, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 1,074,465 Americans. The first name Terry is common and the surname Watson is common.
Is Terry a male or female name?
Terry is predominantly male, with 81.4% of bearers being male and 18.6% female. It peaked in popularity in 1955 and the average bearer today is 63 years old.
What does the Census say about the first name Terry?
In the 2020 Census, the first name Terry was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (80.36%). The next largest recorded groups were Black (12.85%) and Two or More Races (2.68%). These percentages describe the people who had the name in the 2020 Census, not the deeper origin of the name itself.
Where does this data come from?
First name data comes from the Social Security Administration (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables. When available, first-name Census background data comes from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau first-name tables. Surname data comes from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau. Full methodology.
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