Tereska
A diminutive feminine Slavic form of the name Theresa, meaning "harvester".
Name Census estimates that about 14 living Americans carry the first name Tereska. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tereska today is around 61 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tereska births was 1965 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tereska. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Tereska. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
14
~ 1 in 24,482,453 Americans
Peak year
1965
12 babies that year
Average age
61
years old
1970 SSA rank
#9,220
Tracked since 1965
Popularity
Tereska: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tereska from the 1960s through to the 1970s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 12 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1960s peak, Tereska remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tereska 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 Tereska 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 Tereska
The given name Tereska is a Polish diminutive form derived from the name Teresa. It is a feminine name with origins dating back to ancient Greece and the name Theresia, which means "harvester" or "reaper" in Greek. The name Teresa itself is derived from the Greek island of Thera, which was known for its fertile lands.
In Poland, the name Tereska became popular during the Middle Ages, particularly among the nobility and affluent classes. It was often associated with strength, resilience, and a connection to the land and agriculture. The earliest recorded use of the name Tereska can be traced back to the 13th century, where it appears in historical documents and records of the time.
One of the earliest notable figures bearing the name Tereska was Tereska of Logendorf (c. 1230-1279), a Polish noblewoman and landowner known for her charitable works and support of local monasteries. In the 15th century, Tereska Potocka (c. 1420-1490) was a prominent figure in the Polish court, serving as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Sophia of Halshany.
During the Renaissance period, the name Tereska gained further recognition with the birth of Tereska Gawrońska (1540-1610), a Polish poet and writer who was celebrated for her lyrical works and contributions to the Polish literary canon. Her contemporaries included Tereska Radziwiłł (1553-1612), a prominent social reformer and advocate for women's education.
In the 18th century, Tereska Kościuszko (1725-1798) was a notable figure in the Polish struggle for independence, serving as a military leader and close confidante of Tadeusz Kościuszko, the famous Polish-Lithuanian military officer and national hero.
The name Tereska has maintained a strong presence throughout Polish history, often associated with strength, resilience, and a connection to the land and culture. While its popularity has waned in recent times, it remains a beloved and significant name within Polish heritage and tradition.
People
Tereska + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tereska 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
Tereska: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tereska?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 14 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tereska 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 24,482,453 US residents.
Is Tereska a common name?
We classify Tereska as "Very Rare". It ranks above 34% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 17 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tereska most popular?
The single biggest year for Tereska was 1965, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tereska is about 61 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Tereska a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tereska 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.