Tessy
A feminine name of English origin, possibly a diminutive of Theresa.
Name Census estimates that about 179 living Americans carry the first name Tessy. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tessy today is around 49 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tessy births was 1968 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tessy. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Tessy with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
179
~ 1 in 1,914,829 Americans
Peak year
1968
13 babies that year
Average age
49
years old
2022 SSA rank
#17,518
Tracked since 1960
Census
Tessy in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 528 people with the first name Tessy, which placed it at #19,834 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
#19,834
National first-name rank
People counted
528
528 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
32.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tessy
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tessy is Asian/Pacific Islander at 32.6%. The next largest groups are White (28.2%) and Hispanic (18.8%). 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 Tessy 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 Tessy at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander32.6% · 172
- White28.2% · 149
- Hispanic or Latino18.8% · 99
- Black or African American17.2% · 91
- Two or more races1.9% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 7
Popularity
Tessy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tessy from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 81 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tessy 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 Tessy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tessys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Tessy
The name Tessy is believed to have its origins in the Greek language, derived from the word "theos," meaning "god." It is considered a diminutive or shortened form of the name Theodora, which translates to "gift of God." This name gained popularity during the Byzantine era, particularly among the ruling class and nobility.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tessy can be found in the writings of the 6th-century Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea. He mentioned a woman named Tessyna, who was a member of the imperial court during the reign of Emperor Justinian I (482-565 AD).
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Tessy was relatively uncommon but still appeared in various regions of Europe, particularly in Greece, Italy, and parts of the Balkans. It was often associated with individuals of noble or religious backgrounds.
In the 13th century, a nun named Tessy di Rinaldeschi was known for her piety and charitable works in the city of Florence, Italy. She later became the abbess of the Benedictine convent of Santa Maria Nuova and was revered for her devotion to the poor and sick.
During the Renaissance period, the name Tessy gained some prominence in the artistic circles of Italy. One notable figure was Tessy Tasso (1492-1568), an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts, who supported and hosted many prominent artists and writers of her time, including the poet Torquato Tasso.
In the 18th century, Tessy Helene Prinzessin von Thurn und Taxis (1739-1794) was a German princess and the wife of Karl Anselm, the Prince of Thurn and Taxis. She was known for her influential role in the cultural and social life of the court in Regensburg.
Another notable figure with the name Tessy was Tessy Maurogordato (1826-1908), a British philanthropist and writer of Greek descent. She was actively involved in various charitable organizations and was a vocal advocate for women's rights and education.
While the name Tessy has maintained a presence throughout history, it has remained relatively uncommon compared to other names of Greek origin. However, its enduring use across various cultures and time periods reflects its connection to the concepts of divinity, nobility, and charitable works.
People
Tessy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tessy 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
Tessy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tessy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 179 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tessy 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 1,914,829 US residents.
Is Tessy a common name?
We classify Tessy as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 199 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tessy most popular?
The single biggest year for Tessy was 1968, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tessy is about 49 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tessy in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 528 people with the name Tessy, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,834 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 Tessy 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 Tessy?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tessy leans strongly female. 519 people counted with this name were female (98.3%), compared with 9 male bearers (1.7%). 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 Tessy?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tessy is Asian/Pacific Islander at 32.6%. The next largest groups are White (28.2%) and Hispanic (18.8%). 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 Tessy most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Tessy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 32.6% (172 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 Tessy in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tessy a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tessy 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 Tessy still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tessy 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 Tessy 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 the name Tessy?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.