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

Fictional characters

• 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 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, 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

See also

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

Notes