Theresa
Meaning
meaning uncertain, possibly 'harvester' or from the island of Thera
The story
Theresa carries a pleasant mystery at its core: scholars have never settled its meaning, reading it possibly as harvester, from the Greek, or as a nod to the island of Thera. What is certain is the company it keeps. Teresa of Avila, the fierce and funny Spanish mystic, made it one of the great Catholic names of Europe, and Mother Teresa of Calcutta renewed that association for the twentieth century. In America the name spent decades as a dependable classic, present from the earliest records and strongest through the 1950s and 1960s, when Terri and Terry filled classrooms. It has softened gradually since, generation by generation, and now sits at its quietest point in over a century, which for some parents is precisely the appeal: a saint's name with history to spare and no crowd attached.
Theresa around the world
One shared root links 7 names across 10 languages.
Shared root: of uncertain origin; traditionally tied to Greek therizein "to harvest" or to the island of Therasia
The constellation
More branches
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Theresa peaked in the 1950s and the 1960s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
1,323 people · the #6,860 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 142,857 · median age 70
Among people named Theresa living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1930s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 40 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Theresa
Most people given the name Theresa in the United States were born between 1950 and 1979. The Theresa you meet today is most often in her 50s or 60s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Theresa deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Theresa truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Theresa fits with your family’s names and surname.
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