MEANING & HISTORY
What does Teresa mean?
Teresa belongs to a name family recorded in the early Christian period as Therasia. The better-known modern forms include Teresa, Theresa and Thérèse.
Proposed deeper explanations connect the older name with Greek words for summer or harvesting, or with the island Therasia; these remain alternatives. The name’s spread in Europe was later shaped by figures such as Teresa of Ávila. That devotional history can explain a family’s choice, but it is distinct from proving that harvester is the literal origin.
The documented Therasia formation gives the name a concrete historical starting point.
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
Tagalog
- /teˈɾesa/Standard-Tagalog
- [t̪ɛˈɾɛː.sɐ]Standard-Tagalog
Te · re · sa3 source divisions
Dictionary reading & contributors ↗Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
TagalogEtymology & source
a female given name from Spanish, equivalent to English Teresa
Wiktionary: Teresa (Tagalog) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
EnglishEtymology & source
First recorded as the name of a fourth-century Spanish saint. Of obscure origin; suggestions include Therasia or Thera, ancient name of the Greek island Thira.
A female given name from Ancient Greek, the Spanish and Italian form of Theresa.
Wiktionary: Teresa (English) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
SpanishEtymology & source
Unknown. Suggestions include Therasia or Thera, ancient name of the Greek island Thira.
a female given name, equivalent to English Teresa
Wiktionary: Teresa (Spanish) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
People with the name Teresa
Public figures and other documented namesakes linked by an explicit given-name claim. This is a selection of records, not a popularity ranking.
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Teresa Aquino-Oreta
Filipino politician (1944-2020)
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Teresa Magbanua
military leader (1868-1947)
The record establishes the name association, not the person’s intended meaning, pronunciation or ancestry. Descriptions are attributed to Wikidata contributors (CC0).
Use in Philippine-linked records
Public-record transcription
3
eligible source records · 2001
This spelling is reported in an openly licensed transcription of elected-candidate records. This is a record count, not a birth count or national popularity measure.
OpenHalalan / COMELEC ↗Wikidata
5
distinct person records with an explicit given-name claim
Community-edited coverage, not a census or birth registry. Examples: Teresa Aquino-Oreta, Teresa Magbanua
PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Teresa in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Similar names to Teresa
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Theresa♀From Teresa, earlier recorded as Therasia
- Teela♀Finnish spelling of Dela or Tela
- Teresita♀Spanish diminutive of Teresa
- Tessa♀Contracted form of Theresa
- Terence♂From the Roman family name Terentius
- Terry♂♀Familiar form of Terence or Theresa
- Teruko♀Japanese Teruko; 照子 combines shining and child
- Teryo♂Familiar form of Eleuterio
What rhymes with Teresa?
Matches share a dictionary-supplied rhyme key in the stated language. Check the recorded reading; another language or accent can change the rhyme.
Names with a similar written ending
Spelling suggestions; these are not verified phonetic rhymes.
Recorded combinations with Teresa
4 source-reported compound forms include this name as a component. Each part keeps its own history.
Names in this collection
- Ma Teresa·Source record
- Maria Teresa·Source record
- María Teresa♀Source record
- Teresa Nieva·Source record
Explore Teresa further
Follow the sources
- OpenHalalan — pinned 2001 COMELEC transcription (opens in a new tab)
Source-reported given-name form in a row with a separate explicit middle initial; ODbL-1.0.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- Wikidata given-name item Q2793617 — Teresa (opens in a new tab)
Given-name identity, native labels, language associations and explicit class where present; not lexical meaning or population frequency.
- Wikidata — Teresa Aquino-Oreta (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q2793617 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wikidata — Teresa Magbanua (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q2793617 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wiktionary contributors — Teresa (Tagalog) (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name sense and separately attributed etymology; no birth-frequency claim.
- Wiktionary contributors — Teresa (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Wiktionary contributors — Teresa (Spanish) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Behind the Name — Teresa (opens in a new tab)
Onomastic account consulted for this exact name or its explicitly linked name family.
- Behind the Name — Theresa (opens in a new tab)
Early Therasia record and alternative summer/harvest/island explanations.