Ressa first name popularity, history and meaning

Find out how popular the first name Ressa has been for the last 5 years (from 1982 to 1986) and learn more about the meaning and history.

Meaning of Ressa

A feminine diminutive form of the Hebrew name Resa meaning "delight".

Popularity of Ressa by gender

Based on the last 5 years of data, Ressa is exclusively a female name.

For the most recent data in 1986, there were 5 female babies and 0 male babies born with the name Ressa.

Year Male Count Female Count
1986 0 5
1982 0 6

The history of the first name Ressa

The name Ressa has its origins rooted in the ancient Germanic languages, where it was derived from the Old High German word "rezza," meaning "council" or "assembly." This name likely emerged during the early medieval period, around the 5th to 8th centuries CE, when various Germanic tribes dominated large swaths of central and western Europe.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ressa can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from the Saxon kingdoms in present-day Germany. In this text, dated around the 9th century CE, a nobleman named Ressa is mentioned as a witness to a land grant.

Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Ressa was relatively uncommon but appeared sporadically in various regions of Europe. One notable individual was Ressa of Cologne, a 12th-century nun and scholar who authored several religious texts and was renowned for her knowledge of Latin and Greek.

In the Renaissance period, the name gained some prominence in Italy, where it was often spelled as "Ressa" or "Reza." One of the most famous individuals with this name was Ressa Ferramola, a 15th-century Italian painter and illuminator of manuscripts, known for her vibrant and intricate works commissioned by noble families in Florence.

Moving into the early modern era, a notable figure was Ressa von Heynitz, a 17th-century German noblewoman and landowner who played a significant role in the development of her family's estates in Saxony.

In the 19th century, the name Ressa found its way to the United States, possibly brought by German or Italian immigrants. One individual of note was Ressa Hawthorne, an American educator and suffragist born in 1842, who campaigned tirelessly for women's right to vote and established several schools for underprivileged children in New England.

Another historical figure with the name Ressa was Ressa Kohlrausch, a German physicist born in 1883, who made significant contributions to the study of electrical conductivity and the properties of dielectric materials.

While the name Ressa has never been exceedingly common, it has persisted throughout various cultures and time periods, carrying a sense of authority and wisdom derived from its ancient Germanic roots.

Data source

The first name data used on this page comes from the Social Security Administration (SSA). They've been collecting data on baby names since 1880.

The history and meaning of the name Ressa was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Ressa, please contact us.

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"Ressa first name popularity, history and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on May 23, 2025. http://namecensus.com/first-names/ressa-meaning-and-history/.

"Ressa first name popularity, history and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/first-names/ressa-meaning-and-history/. Accessed 23 May, 2025

Ressa first name popularity, history and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/first-names/ressa-meaning-and-history/.

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