Teresa
Masculine
Teresa is given to girls far more often — 416,044 girls against 1,165 boys since 1880. See Teresa as a girl name
Teresa and Theresa are counted as two names in the American record and they are one. The h is a Latin and English addition that no other language uses; Spain, Italy and Poland all write it without one, and the two spellings are said identically everywhere.
How old is the name Teresa?
Teresa first appears in US birth records in 1917 — 108 years ago. The typical Teresa alive today was born around 1964, making them about 61 years old. About 900 people named Teresa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Teresa most popular?
Teresa peaked in 1963, reaching #1052 nationally. See the whole 1963 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Teresa
The Teresa who made the name famous spent twenty years founding convents out of a covered cart. She was in her late forties when she began, in poor health, and she traveled the roads of Castile in a mule-drawn wagon setting up seventeen houses, arguing with bishops, town councils, landlords and her own order, negotiating leases, and writing constantly; she once observed that if this was how God treated his friends it was no wonder he had so few. She was investigated by the Inquisition, told to write her own life so that it could be examined, and produced one of the great books in Spanish. The traveling is the part usually left out.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The origin has never been established. The name appears first in Spain and Portugal, and the proposals connect it to a Greek word for summer, to an island, or to something in the pre-Roman languages of Iberia; none has carried the field. It is unusual for a name this widespread to have no agreed meaning.
Pronouncing Teresa
tuh-REE-suh
Three syllables with the stress in the middle. Spanish and Italian say teh-REH-sah with fuller vowels at each end; the h in the English spelling is silent in every version and always has been.
Nicknames for Teresa
High
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1917
- Most boys named
- 196352 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1052reached in 1963
- Change vs 1993
- +100.0%10 in 1995, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Teresa in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Teresa in Spanish — same name
- Teresa in Italian — same name
- Teresa in Polish — same name
- Therese in French — same name
- Theresia in German — same name
Teresas among us
people named Teresa are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Teresa sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- This is the spelling used by every language except English, so it travels without adjustment.
- Four short forms in four registers, from the brisk Terry to the Spanish Tere.
- It has been in continuous use across Europe for eight hundred years.
- The record carries it for boys in small numbers, so it is not quite an absolute signal.
- In America the h spelling is commoner and will be added by strangers.
- There is no meaning to give a child, which surprises people who expect one.
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Teresa
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Teresas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Teresa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Teresa in 2025?
- Teresa is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Teresa with classmates?
- Teresa will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More T names
The most-given names starting with T, all years combined.
Thomas#34 · Timothy#203 · Tyler#219 · Terry#1115 · Theodore#4 · Travis#434 · Todd#1609 · Tony#783
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Teresa? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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