Teresa
| Pronunciation | /təˈriːzə, -sə/[1][2] |
|---|---|
| Gender | Female |
| Other names | |
| Alternative spelling | Theresa, Therese |
| Nickname(s) | Terri, Terry, Tess, Tere, Teresita |
| Derived | from Greek θηρεσία "huntress"[citation needed] a familiar name for Άρτεμις (Diana), the hunt goddess |
Teresa, Theresa and Therese (French: Thérèse) are feminine given names. The name may be derived from the Greek verb θερίζω (therízō), meaning to harvest.
Its popularity likely increased because of the prominence of several Roman Catholic saints, including Teresa of Ávila, Thérèse of Lisieux and, most recently, Mother Teresa.
The popularity of this name in the United States over the last 15 years is falling, according to the US Census. Spelled "Theresa," 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).[citation needed]
People
In aristocracy:
- Teresa Lubomirska, Polish noble lady
- Teresa of the Two Sicilies, Empress-consort of Brazil
- Tessa Gräfin von Walderdorff, German countess
- Teresa of Portugal (disambiguation)
- Maria Theresa (disambiguation)
In the arts:
- 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 (socialite), 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
- Therese Grankvist, Swedish singer
- Teresa Graves, American actress and singer
- Teresa Medeiros, American romance novelist
- Teresa Nielsen Hayden, American writer and teacher
- Teresa Palmer, Australian actress
- Teresa Parente, American actress
- Theresa Randle, American actress
- Theresa Russell, American actress
- Teresa Salgueiro, Portuguese singer
- Teresa Simas, Portuguese dancer and choreographer
- Teresa Stratas, Canadian soprano
- Teresa Teng, Taiwanese queen of pop
- Teresa Villaverde, Portuguese film director
- Lady Teresa Waugh, British novelist and translator
- Teresa Wentzler, American artist and counted cross-stitch designer
- Teresa Wright, Academy Award-winning American actress
- Tessa Wyatt, British actress
- Teresa Żarnowerówna, Polish avant-garde artist
In politics:
- 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, Malaysian Member of Parliament
- Theresa May, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party
- Teresa Ribera (born 1969), Spanish jurist, university professor and politician
- Theresa Villiers, UK Member of Parliament
In religion:
- Several saints named Teresa, including:
- Saint Teresa of Ávila (1515–1582), founder of the Reformed Carmelites, and Doctor of the Church
- Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1910–1997), Albanian nun, and Nobel laureate, born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu
- Saint Teresa of Los Andes (1900–1920), Carmelite nun, born Juana Fernández del Solar
- Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (1891–1942), Carmelite nun, born Edith Stein
- Saint Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart (1747–1770), Carmelite nun
- Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, O.C.D. (1873–1897), Carmelite nun, and Doctor of the Church
- Teresa Chikaba, Guinean princess declared as Venerable by the Catholic Church
- Teresa Demjanovich, American nun of the Sisters of Charity
In sports:
- 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 Vaill, American racewalker
- Theresa Zabell, Spanish sailor
Others:
- Teresa Cormack, murder victim from New Zealand
- Teresa Magbanua, Filipino schoolteacher and revolutionary
- Teresa Webber, British palaeographer, medievalist, and academic
- Teresa Sickles, wife of Daniel Edgar Sickles, who stood trial for killing her lover
- Vincent Teresa, American mobster
This page or section lists people that share the same given name.
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Fictional characters
- Teresa "Tracy" Bond (née Draco), Bond girl from On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
- Teresa Bryant, on the British soap opera Coronation Street
- Teresa Cammeniti, on the Australian soap opera Neighbours
- Theresa Rourke Cassidy, the alter-ego of the Marvel Comics heroine Siryn
- Teresa of the Faint Smile, in Claymore
- Teresa Lisbon, one of the main characters in the drama The Mentalist
- Theresa "Terri" McGreggor, in Degrassi: The Next Generation
- Teresa Moreno, wife of Richard Sharpe in Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe series of historical fiction
- Theresa Russo, a character from Wizards of Waverly Place
- Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald, protagonist from soap opera "Passions"
- Teresa Chávez, protagonist and villain from the TV Series Teresa
- Teresa Wisemail, from the PlayStation role-playing game Suikoden II
- Thérèse Defarge, the main villain of Charles Dickens' novel A Tale of Two Cities
- Theresa, an immortal seeress, one of the main characters in the Fable video game series
- Theresa McQueen, from the British soap opera Hollyoaks
- Tess Durbeyfield, from Thomas Hardy's novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles
- Teresa, Barbie's best friend
- Teresa, a character in James Dashner's books The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure
- Tereza, from Milan Kundera's novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being
- Tess Hutchinson, from Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery"
- Tessa Gray, the protagonist and main character of The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare
- Theresa (a.k.a. The Fighter), one of the main characters from the Canadian animated series Class of the Titans
- Theresa Burke, wife of main character Ethan Burke on Wayward Pines
- Theresa Spencer, girlfriend and research partner of the character Daniel Faraday from the TV series LOST
- Teresa of Telezart, important character from the second series of the long-running space opera franchise, Space Battleship Yamato
- Theresa Fowler, a fictional character from the animated TV series Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja
See also
- Maria Theresa (disambiguation)
- Marie Thérèse (disambiguation)
- Therese (disambiguation), includes Thérèse
Notes
- ^ "Teresa". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins.
- ^ "Teresa". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d.