Tressa
Feminine · “a braid of hair”
A tress is a braid. The English word came from French and, before that, probably from a Greek term about plaiting in three parts — which is what a braid is. Tressa may be that word with a vowel added, or it may be Teresa clipped from the front and given a Latin ending. Both were available to nineteenth-century American families and both are plausible.
How old is the name Tressa?
Tressa was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Tressa alive today was born around 1972, making them about 53 years old. About 5,200 people named Tressa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Tressa most popular?
Tressa peaked in 1896, reaching #514 nationally. Today it ranks #13208, 12,694 places below that high. See the whole 1896 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From tresse to Tressa
The story of Tressa
Nineteenth-century American naming drew on both routes freely: word-names from English vocabulary and clipped forms of established names given outright. Tressa was already in the record when American statistics began in 1880 and peaked in 1896, which places it firmly in the Victorian period — a moment when hair was a considerable cultural preoccupation and a name meaning a braid would have read quite differently than it does now. It has been quietly present ever since.
Meaningscholars disagree
a braid of hair, or a form of Teresa
The English tress comes from the Old French tresse and probably from a Greek word about plaiting — a three-strand braid, which is the ordinary kind. If the name is instead a form of Teresa, then no meaning attaches, since Teresa's own origin has never been established. Neither reading can be shown.
How the name formed
- tresse
- tress
- Tressa
Related forms: Tresse · Treccia
Pronouncing Tressa
TRESS-uh
Two syllables, stress on the first, with the doubled s keeping the vowel short. Nothing about the spelling causes any English reader difficulty.
Nicknames for Tressa
Moderate
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
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 1969177 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #514reached in 1896
- Change vs 2022
- −25.0%6 in 2025, from 8
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.
Tressa in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Tresse in French — related form
- Treccia in Italian — related form
Tressas among us
people named Tressa are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 267,878 born in 2025 was named Tressa
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Tressa sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Tressa beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Tressa in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Tess is available and needs no explanation anywhere.
- Six letters, two syllables, and readable on sight.
- Both possible origins are respectable and one of them is an ordinary English word.
- Tressa, Tresa and Teressa all appear in records, so the spelling has to be given.
- It belongs to the Victorian period and carries that flavor.
- Its meaning cannot be given flatly, since two unrelated readings run into it.
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What they receive
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Tressa
Feminine · #13208 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Tressas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 5,200 people named Tressa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Tressa in 2025?
- Tressa ranks #13208 among US girl names in 2025, with 6 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Tressa?
- About 1 in every 267,878 US girls born in 2025 was named Tressa — 6 in all.
- Will my child share the name Tressa with classmates?
- Tressa will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Tressa
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
John#13208 · Vinnie#13208 · Margery#13208 · Jossie#13208 · Erie#13208 · Bernadine#13208 · Euna#13208 · Jack#13208
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Tressa? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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