Tereasa
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "harvester" or "reaper".
Name Census estimates that about 1,149 living Americans carry the first name Tereasa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tereasa today is around 59 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tereasa births was 1964 (80 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tereasa. 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
1.1K
~ 1 in 298,307 Americans
Peak year
1964
80 babies that year
Average age
59
years old
2000 SSA rank
#14,874
Tracked since 1946
Popularity
Tereasa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tereasa from the 1940s through to the 2000s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 539 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tereasa 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 Tereasa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tereasas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 13 states and territories. Ohio, California, Indiana recorded the most babies named Tereasa, while Washington, Oklahoma, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tereasa
The name Tereasa is derived from the Greek name Theresia, which itself originated from the Greek island of Therasia. The name was likely brought to Europe during the late Roman period, around the 4th century AD.
Therasia was a small island in the Cyclades archipelago of Greece, located just northwest of the larger island of Santorini. The name Therasia comes from the Greek word "therasia," meaning "to harvest." It's believed the island was named for its fertile soil and plentiful harvests.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tereasa appears in the writings of the 5th century theologian and philosopher Boethius. In his work "The Consolation of Philosophy," he refers to a woman named Tereasa who was a follower of Christian teachings.
In the 12th century, a Benedictine nun named Tereasa of Ávila was born in Spain. She later became known as Saint Teresa of Ávila and is one of the most prominent figures in the Catholic Church's history. Her writings and reforms within the Carmelite Order had a profound impact on the contemplative life of nuns.
Another famous bearer of the name was Tereasa di Benedetto, an Italian painter from the 16th century. She was a pioneer in the Baroque style of painting and her works were celebrated across Europe during her lifetime, from 1498 to 1570.
During the 17th century, Tereasa Carreño was a renowned Venezuelan composer, singer, and pianist. She was born in 1853 and achieved great acclaim for her operatic performances and virtuosic piano skills, touring extensively throughout Europe and the Americas until her death in 1917.
In more recent history, Tereasa Teng was a popular Taiwanese singer-songwriter active in the 1970s and 1980s. Her unique blend of folk and pop music styles made her a cultural icon, and she released over 30 albums before her untimely death in a tragic accident in 1995 at the age of 42.
People
Tereasa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tereasa 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
Tereasa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tereasa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,149 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tereasa 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 298,307 US residents.
Is Tereasa a common name?
We classify Tereasa as "Rare". It ranks above 91% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,415 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tereasa most popular?
The single biggest year for Tereasa was 1964, when 80 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tereasa is about 59 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Tereasa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tereasa 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.
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.