Teresa

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title: "Teresa" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["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"] topic_path: "geography/italy" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teresa" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox given name"]

Field	Value
name	Teresa
pronunciation
gender	Female
region	Iberia
origin	Uncertain (presumably Greek)
alternative spelling	Theresa, Terisa, Thereza, Teréz, Terézia, Tereza, Theresia
nickname	Terri, Terry, Tracy, Tessa, Tess, Resa
related names	Teresinha
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::callout[type=note] the name ::

Teresa (also Theresa, Therese; ) 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". Another origin of the name is from Latin word "Terra" which means earth. Terra mother Earth. 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

Aristocracy

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
Theresa Kunegunda Sobieska (1676-1830), Electress consort of Bavaria, wife of Maximilian II Emanuel
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

Teresa Berganza (1933–2022), Spanish opera singer
Teresa Brewer (1931–2007), American pop and jazz singer
Teresa Cameselle (born 1968), Spanish writer of romantic novels and historical narratives
Teresa Carpenter (born 1948), Pulitzer Prize-winning American author
Teresa Carpio (born 1956), Cantopop singer and actress
Teresa Carreño (1853–1917), Venezuelan musician
Teresa Cheung Siu-wai (born 1963), Canadian actress and producer
Teresa Cheung Tak-lan (born 1959), Hong Kong singer
Teresa Cheung (socialite) (born 1963), Hong Kong socialite and actress
Theresa Chromati, American painter
Teresa De Sio (born 1952), Italian folk singer-songwriter
Teresa Edgerton, American author of fantasy novels and short stories
Theresa Fu (born 1984), Hong Kong singer and actress
Teresa Gallagher, British actress
Therese Grankvist (born 1977), Swedish singer
Teresa Graves (1948–2002), American actress and singer
Teresa Ha (1937–2019), former Chinese television and film actress
Theresa Harris (1906–1985), American actress, dancer and singer
Theresa Ikoko, British playwright
Tereza Kesovija (born 1938), ex Yugoslav and Croatian singer
Theresa Lee (born 1970), Hong Kong-born Canadian actress
Teresa Mak (born 1975), Hong Kong actress
Teresa Medeiros (born 1962), American romance novelist
Teresa Mo (born 1960), Hong Kong actress
Teresa Nielsen Hayden (born 1956), American writer and teacher
Teresa Palmer (born 1986), Australian actress
Teresa Parente, American actress
Theresa Randle (born 1964), American actress
Teresa Reichlen, American ballet dancer
Theresa Russell (born 1957), American actress
Theresa Saldana (1954–2016), American actress
Teresa Salgueiro (born 1967), Portuguese singer
Theresa Sareo, American singer-songwriter
Theresa Sokyrka (born 1981), Canadian singer-songwriter
Teresa Stratas (born 1938), Canadian soprano
Teresa Teng (1953–1995), Taiwanese queen of pop
Teresa Villaverde (born 1966), Portuguese film director
Lady Teresa Waugh (born 1940), British novelist and translator
Teresa Wright (1918–2005), Academy Award-winning American actress
Teresa Żarnowerówna (1897–1949), Polish avant-garde artist

Politics

Theresa Ahearn (1951–2000), Irish Member of Parliament
Theresa Berg Andersen (born 1979), Danish politician
Teresa Aquino-Oreta (1944–2020), Filipino politician
Teresa Bellanova (born 1958), Italian Minister of Agriculture
Teresa Cheng (politician) (born 1958), Hong Kong Justice Minister
Teresa Chipia, Angolan 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 (born 1964), Malaysian Member of Parliament
Theresa May (born 1956), former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party; UK Member of Parliament
Teresa Mosqueda (born 1980), American politician
Teresa Pearce (born 1955), former UK Member of Parliament
Teresa Reyes Sahagún (born 1963), Mexican politician
Teresa Ribera (born 1969), Spanish jurist, university professor and politician
Teresa Riera (born 1950), Spanish politician
Teresa Rodríguez (born 1981), Spanish politician
Teresa Tomlinson (born 1965), American politician
Theresa Villiers (born 1968), UK Member of Parliament
Teresa Wat (born 1949), Canadian member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
Theresa Wood, American politician in Vermont

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

Sports

Teresa Abelleira (born 2000), Spanish footballer
Tereza Brandtlová (born 1985), Czech Paralympic archer
Teresa Ciepły (1937–2006), Polish sprinter
Teresa Earnhardt (born 1958), widow of racing legend Dale Earnhardt
Teresa Edwards (born 1964), American basketball player
Tereza Kmochová (born 1990), Czech alpine skier
Teresa Machado (1969–2020), Portuguese athlete
Teresa Piccini, Mexican ten-pin bowler
Tereza Pištěková (born 2005), Czech ice hockey player
Tereza Plosová (born 2006), Czech ice hockey
Teresa Rivera (born 1966), Mexican swimmer
Teresa Rohmann (born 1987), German medley swimmer
Teresa Ruiz (born 1974), American State Senator from New Jersey
Theresa Schafzahl (born 2000), Austrian ice hockey player
Teresa Vaill (born 1962), American racewalker
Theresa Zabell (born 1965), Spanish sailor

Other

Teresa Adams (1869 –1947), American civil rights activist and suffragist.
Teresa Ciceri Castiglioni (1750–1821) Italian inventor, agronomist
Teresa Cormack, murder victim from New Zealand
Therese Crawford (died 1970), Australian murder victim
Teresa "Terri" Cruz (1927–2017), American community organizer
Teresa Abi-Nader Dahlberg (born 1961), academic administrator and engineering professor
Teresa del Valle (1937–2025), Spanish anthropologist
Teresa Grodzińska (1899–1920), 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
Teresa Pellegrino (born 1975), Italian chemist, academic
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 Sickles, wife of Daniel Edgar Sickles, who stood trial for killing her lover
Teresa Toda (born 1950), Basque journalist
Teresa Webber, British palaeographer, medievalist, and academic

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 “Terry” Gionoffrio, in Rosemary's baby
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
Mary Therese Tribbiani, Joey Tribbiani's sister in NBC sitcom Friends
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

Notes

References

[http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/teresa "Teresa"]. ''[[Collins English Dictionary]]''. [[HarperCollins]].
{{Dictionary.com. Teresa

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