The story behind Teresa
First recorded as the name of a fourth-century Spanish saint. Of obscure origin; suggestions include Therasia or Thera, ancient name of the Greek island Thira.
Other language forms and explanations (3)
Finnish entry
From Spanish Teresa or Italian Teresa, ultimately from Latin Teresia, Theresia.
Polish entry
Learned borrowing from Latin Teresiă.
Tagalog entry
a female given name from Spanish, equivalent to English Teresa
Pronunciation
English; dialect unspecified: /təˈɹiː.sə/
Regional pronunciation variants
- English; dialect unspecified: /təˈɹiː.zə/
- Finnish: /ˈteresɑ/
- Finnish: [ˈt̪e̞re̞s̠ɑ̝]
- Polish: /tɛˈrɛ.sa/
- Tagalog; Standard-Tagalog: /teˈɾesa/
- Tagalog; Standard-Tagalog: [t̪ɛˈɾɛː.sɐ]
Popularity
Teresa ranked #911 in US for 2025.
Source: SSA national baby names
Names Similar to Teresa
Tacjana
Learned borrowing from Latin Tatiana. Doublet of Tatiana.
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Tatiana
Popular saints' name in the Eastern Orthodox Church, feminine of Latin Tatiānus, from Tatius (a Roman family name of obscure origin) + -ānus. Modern English usage is derived…
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 4 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Teodozja
Learned borrowing from Latin Theodosia.
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Thalia
From Ancient Greek Θαλία (Thalía) or Θάλεια (Tháleia); from Ancient Greek θάλλω (thállō, “flourish, to be verdant”).
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Theodora
From the Ancient Greek feminine form of Theodore. a female given name from Ancient Greek, equivalent to English Theodora
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 4 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Theresa
First used in Spain, supposedly derived from Latin Thēra, from Ancient Greek Θήρᾱ (Thḗrā), name of a city in Santorini, Greece.
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Middle Names for Teresa
Æmile
From Latin Aemilius. See also French Émile.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 1 syllable
- Ending
- ends E
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Bairbre
From Latin Barbara (name of a legendary saint), feminine form of barbarus, from Ancient Greek βάρβαρος (bárbaros, “strange, foreign”). Cognate with Scottish Gaelic Barabal and…
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 1 syllable
- Ending
- ends E
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Baldomero
Borrowed from Spanish Baldomero.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 4 syllables
- Ending
- ends O
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Sibling Names for Teresa
Aaron
From Latin Aaron, from Ancient Greek Ἀαρών (Aarṓn), from Hebrew אַהֲרֹן (ʾAhărōn), of unknown meaning, possibly meaning “bearer of martyrs”, or perhaps also, or instead,…
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends N
- shared origin connection
- balanced name length
Aarón
a male given name from Latin [in turn from Ancient Greek, in turn from Hebrew], equivalent to English Aaron
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends N
- shared origin connection
- balanced name length
Abdiasz
Learned borrowing from Latin Abdias, from Ancient Greek Ἀβδίας (Abdías), from Hebrew עובדיה.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends Z
- shared origin connection
- balanced name length