Therisa
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "harvester".
Name Census estimates that about 260 living Americans carry the first name Therisa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Therisa today is around 62 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Therisa births was 1963 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Therisa. 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
260
~ 1 in 1,318,286 Americans
Peak year
1963
18 babies that year
Average age
62
years old
1993 SSA rank
#11,703
Tracked since 1919
Census
Therisa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 353 people with the first name Therisa, which placed it at #26,378 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
#26,378
National first-name rank
People counted
353
353 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
60.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Therisa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Therisa is White at 60.9%. The next largest groups are Black (19.8%) and Hispanic (7.6%). 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 Therisa 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 Therisa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White60.9% · 215
- Black or African American19.8% · 70
- Hispanic or Latino7.6% · 27
- Two or more races5.9% · 21
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.4% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Popularity
Therisa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Therisa from the 1910s through to the 1990s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 134 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
Therisa 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 Therisa 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 Therisa
The name Therisa is believed to have originated from the Greek language, derived from the word "Thera," which means "heat" or "summer." This name was particularly prevalent during the classical Greek era, around the 5th century BCE.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Therisa can be found in ancient Greek literature, where it was often associated with deities or mythological figures related to the sun or warmth. It is speculated that the name may have been given to children born during the summer months or as a way to honor the gods of the sun.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Therisa. One of the most renowned was Therisa of Argos, a renowned poet and philosopher who lived in the 3rd century BCE. Her works, though largely lost, were praised for their profound insights and lyrical beauty.
In the 2nd century CE, Therisa of Corinth gained recognition as a skilled physician and herbalist. Her contributions to the field of medicine were significant, and she was revered for her dedication to healing the sick and advancing medical knowledge.
During the Byzantine era, Therisa Palaiologina (1240-1300) was a prominent figure in the imperial court of Constantinople. She was known for her intelligence, political acumen, and her patronage of the arts and sciences.
In the Renaissance period, Therisa Guicciardini (1478-1541) was an Italian noblewoman and poet. Her works explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition, and she was celebrated for her poetic talents among the literary circles of her time.
Another notable figure was Therisa von Thurn und Taxis (1589-1644), a German countess and landowner. She played a significant role in the development of the postal system in Europe and was renowned for her business acumen and leadership skills.
While the name Therisa may not be as common in modern times, its Greek origins and historical significance have left an indelible mark on the annals of various cultures and civilizations throughout the ages.
People
Therisa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Therisa 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
Therisa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Therisa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 260 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Therisa 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 1,318,286 US residents.
Is Therisa a common name?
We classify Therisa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 352 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Therisa most popular?
The single biggest year for Therisa was 1963, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Therisa is about 62 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Therisa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 353 people with the name Therisa, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,378 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 Therisa 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 Therisa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Therisa appears almost entirely female. Of the 350 people counted with this name, 99.4% 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 Therisa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Therisa is White at 60.9%. The next largest groups are Black (19.8%) and Hispanic (7.6%). 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 Therisa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Therisa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.9% (215 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 Therisa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Therisa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Therisa 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 Therisa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Therisa 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 Therisa 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 Therisa?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.