Tearsa
A feminine name derived from the Greek name Thērēsia, derived from thēreuein meaning "to hunt, pursue".
Name Census estimates that about 193 living Americans carry the first name Tearsa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tearsa today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tearsa births was 1991 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tearsa. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
193
~ 1 in 1,775,929 Americans
Peak year
1991
12 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2008 SSA rank
#15,248
Tracked since 1962
Census
Tearsa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 212 people with the first name Tearsa, which placed it at #37,053 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#37,053
National first-name rank
People counted
212
212 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
69.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tearsa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tearsa is White at 69.3%. The next largest groups are Black (14.2%) and Hispanic (8.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Tearsa described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Tearsa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.3% · 147
- Black or African American14.2% · 30
- Hispanic or Latino8.5% · 18
- Two or more races5.2% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 3
Popularity
Tearsa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tearsa from the 1960s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 60 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Tearsa remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tearsa by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Tearsa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tearsa
The name Tearsa originates from the Gaelic language and is the Irish form of the name Teresa. It has its roots in the Greek name Theresia, which means "harvester" or "reaper." The name was widely popularized by St. Teresa of Avila, a 16th-century Spanish nun and mystic who later became a Doctor of the Church.
In ancient times, the name Tearsa was relatively uncommon. However, it started gaining popularity after the canonization of St. Teresa of Avila in 1622. The devotion to this saint and the spread of her writings led to the widespread adoption of the name across Catholic communities in Europe and beyond.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tearsa can be found in the Irish Annals, which document historical events in Ireland from the 5th to the 17th centuries. The Annals mention a few individuals with the name, including Tearsa Ní Dhomhnaill, who lived in the 16th century and was a member of the powerful Ó Domhnaill dynasty in Ulster.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Tearsa. Tearsa Ní Raghallaigh (c. 1718-1805) was an Irish noblewoman and patron of the arts, known for her support of Gaelic poetry and Irish language preservation. Tearsa Ní Mhaonaigh (1844-1919) was a prominent Irish language scholar and writer who contributed significantly to the preservation of Irish folklore and literature.
In the 20th century, Tearsa Ní Ghríofa (1899-1973) was an Irish language activist and writer who played a crucial role in the revival of the Irish language and the promotion of Irish culture. Tearsa Ní Dhuibhir (1920-2009) was a renowned Irish traditional singer and musician, recognized for her contributions to preserving and promoting traditional Irish music.
Another notable figure with the name Tearsa was Tearsa Coghlan (1954-2016), an Irish author and journalist who wrote extensively about Irish culture, history, and politics. She was also a passionate advocate for the Irish language and played a significant role in promoting its use in various domains.
These individuals, among others, have carried the name Tearsa throughout history and have made notable contributions to their respective fields, particularly in the realms of Irish language, literature, and culture.
People
Tearsa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tearsa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Tearsa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tearsa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 193 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tearsa going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,775,929 US residents.
Is Tearsa a common name?
We classify Tearsa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 204 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tearsa most popular?
The single biggest year for Tearsa was 1991, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tearsa is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tearsa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 212 people with the name Tearsa, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #37,053 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Tearsa in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Tearsa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tearsa appears almost entirely female. Of the 206 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Tearsa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tearsa is White at 69.3%. The next largest groups are Black (14.2%) and Hispanic (8.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Tearsa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Tearsa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.3% (147 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Tearsa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tearsa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tearsa in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Tearsa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tearsa in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Tearsa can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Tearsa as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.