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
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
* Greeks, an ethnic group.
* Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancesto ...
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
Teresa of Ávila, OCD (born Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada; 28 March 15154 or 15 October 1582), also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, was a Spanish Carmelite nun and prominent Spanish mystic and religious reformer.
Active during t ...
, 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
In aristocracy:
*
Teresa of Portugal (disambiguation)
**
Theresa, Countess of Portugal
Theresa ( Portuguese: ''Teresa''; Galician-Portuguese: ''Tareja'' or ''Tareixa''; Latin: ''Tarasia'') (1080 – 11 November 1130) was Countess of Portugal, and for a time claimant to be its independent Queen. She rebelled against her half-si ...
(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
Infanta Maria Teresa of Braganza ( or ; 29 April 1793 – 17 January 1874) was the firstborn child of John VI of Portugal and Carlota Joaquina of Spain, and heir presumptive to the throne of Portugal between 1793 and 1795, until her short-lived br ...
(1793-1874), firstborn child of John VI of Portugal
*
Teresa Lubomirska, Polish noble lady
*
Teresa of the Two Sicilies
Dona Teresa Cristina (14 March 182228 December 1889), nicknamed "the Mother of the Brazilians", was the Empress consort of Emperor Dom Pedro II of Brazil, who reigned from 1831 to 1889. Born a Princess of the Kingdom of the Two Sicil ...
, Empress-consort of Brazil
*
Teresa, Contessa Guiccioli
Teresa, Contessa Guiccioli (1800–1873) was the married lover of Lord Byron while he was living in Ravenna and writing the first five cantos of ''Don Juan''. She wrote the biographical account ''Lord Byron's Life in Italy''.
On 19 January 18 ...
(1800–1873), the married lover of Lord Byron in Ravenna
In the arts:
*
Teresa Berganza
Teresa Berganza Vargas OAXS (16 March 1933 – 13 May 2022) was a Spanish mezzo-soprano. She is most closely associated with roles such as Rossini's Rosina and La Cenerentola, and later Bizet's Carmen, admired for her technical virtuosity, m ...
, Spanish opera singer
*
Teresa Brewer
Teresa Brewer (born Theresa Veronica Breuer; May 7, 1931 – October 17, 2007) was an American singer whose style incorporated pop, country, jazz, R&B, musicals, and novelty songs. She was one of the most prolific and popular female singers of th ...
, American pop and jazz singer
*
Teresa Carpenter,
Pulitzer Prize-winning American author
*
Teresa Carpio
Teresa Carpio (born 30 September 1956) is a Hong Kong English- and Cantonese-language pop singer, actress, and singing teacher. Carpio was popular in Hong Kong during the 1970s and 1980s. She is the paternal cousin of actress and singer Rita Ca ...
, Cantopop singer and actress
*
Teresa Carreño
María Teresa Gertrudis de Jesús Carreño García (December 22, 1853June 12, 1917) was a Venezuelan pianist, soprano, composer, and conductor. Over the course of her 54-year concert career, she became an internationally renowned virtuoso pian ...
, Venezuelan musician
*
Teresa Cheung (socialite)
Teresa Cheung Siu-wai () (born June 10, 1963) is a Canadian actress and producer.
Early life
Born in Hong Kong to parents of Shanghainese descent, Cheung appeared in her first advertisement at the age of three.
She was born in a scholarly fa ...
, Hong Kong socialite and actress
*
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
Terresa M. Graves (January 10, 1948October 10, 2002), credited as Teresa Graves, was an American actress and singer best known for her starring role as undercover police detective Christie Love in the ABC crime-drama television series ''Get Chr ...
, American actress and singer
*
Theresa Harris
Theresa Harris (December 31, 1906 – October 8, 1985) was an American television and film actress, singer and dancer.
Early life
Harris was born on New Year's Eve 1906 (some sources indicate 1909) in Houston, Texas, to Isaiah and Mable Harris, ...
, American actress, dancer and singer
*
Theresa Ikoko
Theresa Ikoko is a British playwright and screenwriter of Nigerian descent. Her play ''Girls'', about three girls abducted by terrorists in northern Nigeria, won the Alfred Fagon Award and other awards.
Ikoko later gained greater nationwide reco ...
, British playwright
*
Teresa Medeiros, American romance novelist
*
Teresa Nielsen Hayden, American writer and teacher
*
Teresa Palmer
Teresa Mary Palmer (born 26 February 1986) is an Australian actress. She began her career with roles in '' Bedtime Stories'' (2008), ''The Sorcerer's Apprentice'' (2010), '' Take Me Home Tonight'' (2011), and ''I Am Number Four'' (2011). She re ...
, Australian actress
*
Teresa Parente, American actress
*
Theresa Randle
Theresa E. Randle (born December 27, 1964) is an American actress. She has appeared in films such as ''Malcolm X'' (1992), '' Sugar Hill'', ''Beverly Hills Cop III'' (both 1994), ''Girl 6'', ''Space Jam'' (both 1996), '' Spawn'' (1997) and the '' ...
, American actress
*
Teresa Reichlen
Teresa Reichlen (born ) is an American ballet dancer. She joined the New York City Ballet in 2001, was promoted to principal dancer in 2009, and retired in 2022.
Early life
Reichlen was born in Clifton, Virginia. She has three brothers. When sh ...
, American ballet dancer
*
Theresa Russell
Theresa Lynn Russell ( Paup; born March 20, 1957) is an American actress whose career spans over four decades. Her filmography includes over fifty feature films, ranging from mainstream to independent and experimental films.
Born in San Diego, ...
, American actress
*
Theresa Saldana
Theresa Saldana (August 20, 1954 – June 6, 2016) was an American actress, activist, and writer. She is known for her role as Rachel Scali, the wife of Police Commissioner Tony Scali, in the 1990s television series '' The Commish'', for which s ...
, American actress
*
Teresa Salgueiro, Portuguese singer
*
Theresa Sokyrka, Canadian singer-songwriter
*
Teresa Stratas, Canadian soprano
*
Teresa Teng
Teng Li-Chun (; 29 January 1953 – 8 May 1995), commonly known as Teresa Teng, was a Taiwanese singer, actress, musician and philanthropist. Referred to by some as " Asia's eternal queen of pop," Teng became a cultural icon for her contributio ...
, 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
In politics:
*
Theresa Ahearn
Theresa Ahearn (; 1 May 1951 – 20 September 2000) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as a Teachta Dála for the Tipperary South constituency from 1989 to 2000.
Political career
Her first elected office was as a member of South ...
(1951-2000), Irish Member of Parliament
*
Teresa Aquino-Oreta (born 1944), Filipino politician
*
Teresa Bellanova, Italian Minister of Agriculture
*
Teresa Cheng (politician)
Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah (; born 11 November 1958) is a Hong Kong Senior Counsel, arbitrator and politician. She served as Secretary for Justice (Hong Kong), Secretary for Justice of Hong Kong from 2018 to 2022. She was also the chairperson of t ...
, Hong Kong Justice Minister
*
Teresa Gutierrez, American politician
*
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
Teresa Kok Suh Sim (; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ''Kwo̍k Su-tshim''; born 31 March 1964) is a Malaysian politician who served as the Minister of Primary Industries in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration under former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohama ...
, Malaysian Member of Parliament
*
Theresa May
Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's c ...
, 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
Teresa Ribera Rodríguez (born 19 May 1969) is a Spanish jurist, university professor, and politician who has served as the Minister for the Ecological Transition of Spain since 2018, after Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez coming into power followi ...
(born 1969), Spanish jurist, university professor and politician
*
Teresa Riera (born 1950), Spanish politician
*
Teresa Rodríguez, Spanish politician
*
Teresa Tomlinson, American politician
*
Theresa Villiers
Theresa Anne Villiers (born 5 March 1968) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Chipping Barnet since 2005, having previously served as a Member of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2005. A member of the ...
, UK Member of Parliament
*
Teresa Wat, Canadian member of the
Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
In religion:
*
List of saints named Teresa
*
Teresa Chikaba, Ghanaian princess declared Venerable by the Catholic Church
*
Teresa Demjanovich, American nun of the Sisters of Charity
In sports:
*
Teresa Ciepły, Polish sprinter
*
Teresa Earnhardt
Teresa Earnhardt ( née Houston; born October 29, 1958) is the third wife and widow of Dale Earnhardt. She is the biological mother of Taylor Nicole Earnhardt (born December 20, 1988) and she is the stepmother of Kerry Earnhardt, Kelley Earnhar ...
, widow of racing legend Dale Earnhardt, also known as the "wicked witch" by much of the NASCAR fandom
*
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
*
Teresa Vaill, American racewalker
*
Theresa Zabell, Spanish sailor
other:
*
Teresa Cormack, murder victim from New Zealand
*
Theresa Lawson (1951-2014), Australian convicted of embezzlement
*
Teresa Magbanua, Filipino schoolteacher and revolutionary
*
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
*Teresa
Tracy Bond
Teresa "Tracy" Bond (born Teresa "Tracy" Draco, and also known as the Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo) is a fictional character and the main Bond girl in the 1963 James Bond novel '' On Her Majesty's Secret Service'', and its 1969 film adaptation. ...
(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
''Wayward Pines'' is an American mystery science fiction television series based on the ''Wayward Pines'' novels by Blake Crouch. Developed for television by Chad Hodge, the pilot was directed by M. Night Shyamalan, with both as executive p ...
''
*
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
''The Infernal Devices'' is a trilogy by author Cassandra Clare, centring on a race called the Shadowhunters introduced in her ''The Mortal Instruments'' series. The trilogy is a prequel series to ''The'' ''Mortal Instruments'' series. Cassandra ...
'' novel series by Cassandra Clare
*
Teresa Lisbon
Teresa Lisbon is a fictional character on the CBS crime drama ''The Mentalist'', portrayed by Robin Tunney. Lisbon is a former senior agent and leader of the "Serious Crimes Unit" for the California Bureau of Investigation (CBI). After leaving t ...
, one of the main characters in the drama ''
The Mentalist
''The Mentalist'' is an American drama television series that ran from September 23, 2008, until February 18, 2015, broadcasting 151 episodes over seven seasons, on CBS. Created by Bruno Heller, who was also its executive producer, the show fo ...
''
*
Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald, a main character in the soap opera ''Passions''
*Theresa
Terri McGreggor, in ''Degrassi: The Next Generation''
*
Theresa McQueen
Theresa McQueen is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', played by Jorgie Porter. She made her first appearance on 24 November 2008. The character was introduced as an extension of already established McQue ...
, 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 Russo, from ''
Wizards of Waverly Place
''Wizards of Waverly Place'' is an American fantasy teen sitcom created by Todd J. Greenwald that aired on Disney Channel for four seasons between October 2007 and January 2012. The series centers on Alex Russo ( Selena Gomez), a teenage ...
''
*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
Fable is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to a particular mor ...
'' video game series
*
Teresa (Barbie)
Teresa is a Mattel fashion doll who is marketed as one of Barbie's fictional friends. Teresa debuted in the "California Dream Teresa" doll in 1988 and since then, she has been Barbie's most frequently featured female companion in the toy line (n ...
, a fashion doll and
Barbie
Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration. ...
's best friend
*Teresa, from
James Dashner's book series ''
The Maze Runner
''The Maze Runner'' is a 2009 young adult dystopian science fiction novel written by American author James Dashner and the first book released in ''The Maze Runner'' series. The novel was published on October 6, 2009, by Delacorte Press, an ...
''
*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)
''Heidi'' is a computer animated children's television series, based indirectly on the 1881 novel ''Heidi'' by Johanna Spyri. The original 2007 television series was a Swiss-French-Italian-Australian co-production in 27 episodes of 26 minutes.
...
*Theresa Servopoulos, from ''
The Last of Us''
See also
*
Maria Theresa (disambiguation)
*
Marie Thérèse (disambiguation)
*
Therese (disambiguation)
*
Theresia
*
Terisa
*
Tirzah (disambiguation)
Notes
{{given name
Feminine given names
English feminine given names
Italian feminine given names
Lithuanian feminine given names
Polish feminine given names
Portuguese feminine given names
Spanish feminine given names