girls' name ★ peaked 1961

Teresa

Meaning First recorded as the name of a fourth-century Spanish saint Gender Girl Rank 2025 #911 Trend ↓ Falling 10%

First recorded as the name of a fourth-century Spanish saint.

Rank 2025
#911
among girls · ↓47 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
291
named Teresa · -7% vs 2024
How common
1 in 5,523
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1961
18,949 babies
All-time total
417,209
#87 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Teresa popularity over time

417,209 babies have been named Teresa since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
2.557.51018801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 769 – 769 77 – #196
1890s 1,587 – 1,587 159 +106% #192
1900s 1,889 – 1,889 189 +19% #220
1910s 5,194 5 5,199 520 +175% #229
1920s 9,227 34 9,261 926 +78% #172
1930s 7,648 46 7,694 769 -17% #192
1940s 19,329 45 19,374 1,937 +152% #82
1950s 114,283 231 114,514 11,451 +491% #24
1960s 151,793 411 152,204 15,220 +33% #18
1970s 56,037 233 56,270 5,627 -63% #34
1980s 23,411 132 23,543 2,354 -58% #94
1990s 11,952 28 11,980 1,198 -49% #179
2000s 6,755 – 6,755 676 -44% #344
2010s 4,215 – 4,215 422 -38% #535
2020s (to 2025) 1,955 – 1,955 326 -23% #747

Where Teresa is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 286 0.18 outside top 500
2027 282 0.18 outside top 500
2028 279 0.17 outside top 500
2029 276 0.17 outside top 500
2030 274 0.17 outside top 500

Where Teresa is most popular

Girls named Teresa per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.196 per 1,000. Strongest in Virginia, Illinois, and Iowa.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Teresa born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Virginia 56 0.329 +68%
Illinois 71 0.310 +58%
Iowa 17 0.291 +49%
California 237 0.282 +44%
Wisconsin 29 0.282 +44%
Massachusetts 34 0.281 +44%
Texas 213 0.265 +35%
Florida 101 0.236 +21%
Maryland 25 0.236 +20%
Indiana 33 0.235 +20%
Missouri 27 0.224 +14%
Pennsylvania 51 0.216 +10%
Georgia 49 0.216 +10%
Oregon 14 0.215 +10%
Washington 31 0.215 +10%
Connecticut 12 0.206 +5%
Arizona 28 0.200 ≈ national
Minnesota 21 0.195 ≈ national
Tennessee 30 0.189 ≈ national
New York 74 0.187 -5%
North Carolina 42 0.184 -6%
Ohio 43 0.181 -7%
Michigan 33 0.181 -7%
New Jersey 28 0.155 -21%
Alabama 13 0.138 -29%
South Carolina 10 0.111 -43%
Colorado 11 0.099 -50%
Oklahoma 5 0.068 -65%
Utah 5 0.060 -69%
Louisiana 5 0.057 -71%
Alaska – – –
Arkansas – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Idaho – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Maine – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Teresa

Teresa is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #911 in 2025 with 291 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 417,209 American babies have been named Teresa. Its peak came in 1961, when 18,949 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1960s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Teresa stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Teresa?

The median living Teresa is about 62 years old; half are between 54 and 67. An estimated 350 thousand people named Teresa are alive in the United States today.

median 62 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Teresa year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 291 #911 – –
2024 314 #864 – –
2023 322 #843 – –
2022 320 #868 – –
2021 342 #815 – –
2020 366 #747 – –
2019 349 #796 – –
2018 347 #791 – –
2017 397 #723 – –
2016 437 #670 – –
2015 429 #668 – –
2014 391 #718 – –
2013 437 #650 – –
2012 472 #607 – –
2011 544 #535 – –
2010 412 #694 – –
2009 453 #654 – –
2008 534 #579 – –
2007 563 #547 – –
2006 566 #533 – –
2005 672 #453 – –
2004 747 #409 – –
2003 704 #428 – –
2002 787 #376 – –
2001 830 #357 – –
2000 899 #344 – –
1995 1,044 #263 10 #5,876
1990 1,613 #179 7 #7,103
1985 2,210 #132 12 #3,779
1980 3,149 #94 13 #3,411
1975 4,640 #61 19 #2,355
1970 9,612 #34 37 #1,394
1965 14,578 #24 43 #1,160
1960 18,839 #19 39 #1,268
1955 13,126 #26 25 #1,570
1950 4,724 #81 6 #3,641
1945 1,339 #171 7 #2,971
1940 686 #244 5 #3,890
1935 715 #234 9 #2,696
1930 992 #194 9 #2,994
1925 955 #206 – –
1920 720 #243 – –
1915 686 #229 – –
1910 220 #258 – –
1905 178 #238 – –
1900 204 #220 – –
1895 167 #209 – –
1890 110 #233 – –
1885 66 #251 – –
1880 50 #218 – –

Famous people named Teresa

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Teresa Palmer Teresa Palmer Australian actress b. 1986 · Contemporary
  2. 2 Teresa of Ávila Teresa of Ávila Spanish Carmelite mystic and saint (1515–1582) 16th century
  3. 3 Teresa Teng Teresa Teng Taiwanese singer (1953–1995) Contemporary
  4. 4 Teresa Wright Teresa Wright American actress (1918–2005) Contemporary
  5. 5 Teresa Ann Savoy Teresa Ann Savoy British-born actress (1955–2017) Contemporary
  6. 6 Teresa Graves Teresa Graves American actress (1948–2002) Contemporary
  7. 7 Teresa Cristina of the Two Sicilies Teresa Cristina of the Two Sicilies Empress of Brazil from 1843 to 1889 1822–1889 · 19th century
  8. 8 Teresa Brewer Teresa Brewer American singer (1931–2007) Contemporary
  9. 9 Teresa Ribera Teresa Ribera Spanish politician (born 1969) Contemporary
  10. 10 Teresa Edwards Teresa Edwards American basketball player (born 1964) Contemporary
  11. 11 Teresa Carreño Teresa Carreño Venezuelan pianist, soprano, composer, and conductor (1853–1917) 19th century
  12. 12 Teresa Berganza Teresa Berganza Spanish mezzo-soprano (1933–2022) Contemporary
  13. 13 Teresa Salgueiro Teresa Salgueiro Portuguese singer b. 1969 · Contemporary
  14. 14 Teresa de la Parra Teresa de la Parra Venezuelan novelist 1889–1936 · 19th century
  15. 15 Teresa Ciepły Teresa Ciepły Polish sprinter and hurdler 1937–2006 · Contemporary
  16. 16 Teresa Claramunt Creus Teresa Claramunt Creus Catalan anarcho-syndicalist 1862–1931 · 19th century

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Teresa, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Teresa?

The median living Teresa is about 62 years old. Half of all living Teresas are between 54 and 67 years old.

How many people named Teresa are alive today?

An estimated 350 thousand people named Teresa are alive in the United States, based on 417,209 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Teresa mean?

First recorded as the name of a fourth-century Spanish saint.

How popular is the name Teresa in 2025?

Teresa ranked #911 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 291 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Teresa?

417,209 babies have been named Teresa in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Teresa most popular?

Teresa peaked in 1961, when 18,949 newborns received the name.

Is Teresa a boy or girl name?

Teresa is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Teresa rising or falling?

Teresa is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Teresa become more popular?

Teresa looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 274 girls named Teresa in 2030, ranking outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Teresa?

Well-known people named Teresa include Teresa Palmer (actor), Teresa of Ávila (religious figure), Teresa Teng (singer).

Names like Teresa

Names that sound and feel close to Teresa: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Teresa with similar names → More names starting with T →