Terrance

Terrance is a variation of Terence, the English version of the Old Roman name Terentius (which is of uncertain origin). Some have speculated that it may have been a Latin development borrowed from an ancient Aramaic word meaning “heart”. Two famous bearers in ancient Rome were Publius Terentius Afer, a 2nd century B.C. African slave turned famous playwright (earning himself his freedom) and Marcus Terentius Varro, a distinguished Roman scholar in the 1st century B.C. So Terence is a name with roots dating back over 2000 years. But it was really a couple of early popular saints named Terentius who encouraged the spread of Terentius into other languages (Terence, Terenzio, Terenti, etc). Aside from Terence’s ancient Latin roots, it is also considered an anglicized form of the Old Irish Toirdhealbhach, from the Gaelic “toirdhealbh” which means “prompting”. Toirdhealbhach would have been an ancient Irish byname given to a person who was an “instigator" type. Terence did not become popular in England until the 19th century when it eventually spread to other English speaking nations. Terrance is the preferred spelling in the United States.