Teresa

This article is about the name. For other uses, see Teresa (disambiguation).

TeresaPronunciation| /təˈriːzə, -sə/[1][2]

|

Gender| Female
Origin
Word/name| uncertain (presumably Greek)
Region of origin| Iberia
Other names
Alternative spelling| Theresa, Terisa, Thereza, Terézia, Tereza
Nickname(s)| Terri, Terry, Tracy, Tessa, Tess, Resa
Related names| Teresinha

Teresa (also Theresa, Therese; French: Thérèse) is a feminine given name.

It originates in the Iberian Peninsula in late antiquity. Its derivation is uncertain, it may be derived from Greek θερίζω (therízō) "to harvest or reap", or from θέρος (theros) "summer". It is first recorded in the form Therasia, the name of Therasia of Nola, an aristocrat of the 4th century. Its popularity outside of Iberia increased because of saint Teresa of Ávila, and more recently Thérèse of Lisieux and Mother Teresa.

In the United States it was ranked as the 852nd most popular name for girls born in 2008, down from 226th in 1992 (it ranked 65th in 1950, and 102nd in 1900). Spelled "Teresa," it was the 580th most popular name for girls born in 2008, down from 206th in 1992 (it ranked 81st in 1950, and 220th in 1900).

## People

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### Aristocracy

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* Teresa of Portugal (disambiguation)
* Theresa, Countess of Portugal (1080–1130), mother of Afonso Henriques, the first King of Portugal
* Theresa of Portugal, Countess of Flanders (1157–1218), daughter of Afonso Henriques and wife of Philip, Count of Flanders
* Theresa of Portugal, Queen of León (1181–1250), daughter of Sancho I of Portugal and wife of Alfonso IX of León
* Infanta Maria Teresa of Braganza (1793–1874), firstborn child of John VI of Portugal
* Teresa Lubomirska, Polish noble lady
* Teresa of the Two Sicilies, Empress-consort of Brazil
* Teresa, Contessa Guiccioli (1800–1873), the married lover of Lord Byron in Ravenna

### Arts

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* Teresa Berganza, Spanish opera singer
* Teresa Brewer, American pop and jazz singer
* Teresa Carpenter, Pulitzer Prize-winning American author
* Teresa Carpio, Cantopop singer and actress
* Teresa Carreño, Venezuelan musician
* Teresa Cheung Siu-wai, Canadian actress and producer
* Teresa Cheung Tak-lan, Hong Kong singer
* Teresa Cheung (socialite), Hong Kong socialite and actress
* Theresa Chromati, American painter
* Teresa De Sio, Italian folk singer-songwriter
* Teresa Edgerton, American author of fantasy novels and short stories
* Theresa Fu, Hong Kong singer and actress
* Teresa Gallagher, British actress
* Therese Grankvist, Swedish singer
* Teresa Graves, American actress and singer
* Teresa Ha, former Chinese television and film actress
* Theresa Harris, American actress, dancer and singer
* Theresa Ikoko, British playwright
* Tereza Kesovija, ex Yugoslav and Croatian singer
* Theresa Lee, Hong Kong-born Canadian actress
* Teresa Mak, Hong Kong actress
* Teresa Medeiros, American romance novelist
* Teresa Mo, Hong Kong actress
* Teresa Nielsen Hayden, American writer and teacher
* Teresa Palmer, Australian actress
* Teresa Parente, American actress
* Theresa Randle, American actress
* Teresa Reichlen, American ballet dancer
* Theresa Russell, American actress
* Theresa Saldana, American actress
* Teresa Salgueiro, Portuguese singer
* Theresa Sokyrka, Canadian singer-songwriter
* Teresa Stratas, Canadian soprano
* Teresa Teng, Taiwanese queen of pop
* Teresa Villaverde, Portuguese film director
* Lady Teresa Waugh, British novelist and translator
* Teresa Wright, Academy Award-winning American actress
* Teresa Żarnowerówna, Polish avant-garde artist

### Politics

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* Theresa Ahearn (1951–2000), Irish Member of Parliament
* Theresa Berg Andersen (born 1979), Danish politician
* Teresa Aquino-Oreta (1944–2020), Filipino politician
* Teresa Bellanova, Italian Minister of Agriculture
* Teresa Cheng (politician), Hong Kong Justice Minister
* Teresa Heinz (born 1938), former widow of U.S. Senator H. John Heinz III; wife of Senator John Kerry
* Teresa Isaac, American politician, former mayor of Lexington, Kentucky
* Teresa Kok, Malaysian Member of Parliament
* Theresa May, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party; UK Member of Parliament
* Teresa Mosqueda, American politician
* Teresa Pearce, former UK Member of Parliament
* Teresa Reyes Sahagún, Mexican politician
* Teresa Ribera (born 1969), Spanish jurist, university professor and politician
* Teresa Riera (born 1950), Spanish politician
* Teresa Rodríguez, Spanish politician
* Teresa Tomlinson, American politician
* Theresa Villiers, UK Member of Parliament
* Teresa Wat, Canadian member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
* Theresa Wood, American politician in Vermont

### Religion

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* List of saints named Teresa
* Teresa Chikaba, Ghanaian princess declared Venerable by the Catholic Church
* Teresa Demjanovich, American nun of the Sisters of Charity

### Sports

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* Teresa Abelleira, Spanish footballer
* Teresa Ciepły, Polish sprinter
* Teresa Earnhardt, widow of racing legend Dale Earnhardt
* Teresa Edwards, American basketball player
* Tereza Kmochová, Czech alpine skier
* Teresa Machado, Portuguese athlete
* Teresa Piccini, Mexican ten-pin bowler
* Teresa Rivera, Mexican swimmer
* Teresa Rohmann, German medley swimmer
* Teresa Ruiz, American State Senator from New Jersey
* Theresa Schafzahl (born 2000), Austrian ice hockey player
* Teresa Vaill, American racewalker
* Theresa Zabell, Spanish sailor

### Other

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* Teresa Ciceri Castiglioni (1750–1821) Italian inventor, agronomist
* Teresa Cormack, murder victim from New Zealand
* Teresa Abi-Nader Dahlberg (born 1961), academic administrator and engineering professor
* Teresa Grodzińska, Polish wartime nurse, the first woman in the Second Polish Republic to receive Poland's highest military decoration Virtuti Militari
* Theresa Lawson (1951–2014), Australian convicted of embezzlement
* Teresa Lewis, American convicted murderer
* Teresa Magbanua, Filipino schoolteacher and revolutionary
* Teresa Manera, Argentine paleontologist
* Teresa Merz (1879 – 1958), English social worker, philanthropist and magistrate
* Theresa A. Powell (1952–2023), academic administrator
* Teresa Meana Suárez (born 1952), Spanish feminist activist, teacher, and philologist
* Teresa Rodrigo (1956–2020), Spanish scientist
* Teresa Sampsonia, Persian noblewoman, diplomat, adventuress
* Teresa Webber, British palaeographer, medievalist, and academic
* Teresa Sickles, wife of Daniel Edgar Sickles, who stood trial for killing her lover

## Fictional characters

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* Teresa Tracy Bond (née Di Vicenzo), Bond girl and wife of James Bond in the film On Her Majesty's Secret Service
* Teresa Bryant, on the British soap opera Coronation Street
* Theresa Burke, wife of main character Ethan Burke on the American TV series Wayward Pines
* Teresa Cammeniti, on the Australian soap opera Neighbours
* Theresa Rourke Cassidy, alter-ego of the Marvel Comics heroine Siryn
* Teresa Chávez, protagonist and villain from the TV series Teresa
* Theresa "Tess" Durbeyfield, title character of Thomas Hardy's novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles
* Theresa Fowler, from the animated TV series Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja
* Theresa "Tessa" Gray, protagonist and main character of The Infernal Devices novel series by Cassandra Clare
* Tessie (Teresa) Hutchinson, the only character to protest the village tradition of stoning in Shirley Jackson's The Lottery
* Teresa Lisbon, one of the main characters in the drama The Mentalist
* Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald, a main character in the soap opera Passions
* Theresa Terri McGreggor, in Degrassi: The Next Generation
* Theresa McQueen, from the British soap opera Hollyoaks
* Teresa Moreno, wife of Richard Sharpe in Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe series of historical fiction
* Teresa Parker, long lost younger sister of Peter Parker / Spider-Man from Marvel Comics.
* Theresa Rourke, also known as Siryn, is Banshee's daughter in Marvel Comics
* Theresa Russo, from Wizards of Waverly Place
* Theresa Spencer, girlfriend and research partner of the character Daniel Faraday from the TV series Lost
* Teresa Wisemail, from the PlayStation role-playing game Suikoden II
* Theresa, an immortal seeress, one of the main characters in the Fable video game series
* Teresa (Barbie), a fashion doll and Barbie's best friend
* Teresa Agnes, from James Dashner's book series The Maze Runner
* Tereza, from Milan Kundera's novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being
* Theresa (a.k.a. The Fighter), one of the main characters from the Canadian animated series Class of the Titans
* Teresa of Telezart, important character from the second series of the long-running space opera franchise Space Battleship Yamato
* Teresa of the Faint Smile, in Claymore
* Boos, known in Japan as Teresa, are ghosts from the Mario and Yoshi series of video games.
* Teresa Mendoza, protagonist and drug cartel leader from Queen of the South
* Theresa Keller, a new girl from the children's program Heidi (2015 TV series)
* Theresa Servopoulos, from The Last of Us
* Theresa Apocalypse, from Honkai Impact 3rd

## See also

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* Maria Theresa (disambiguation)
* Marie Thérèse (disambiguation)
* Therese (disambiguation)
* Theresia
* Terisa
* Tirzah (disambiguation)

## Notes

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1. ^ "Teresa". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins.
2. ^ "Teresa". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d.

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