Teresa
Teresa was given to 291 girls in 2025, #911 among girls’ names; 417,209 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 338,000 Americans named Teresa and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (81% of everyone recorded); the median is 62 years old and half are between 55 and 68.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Teresa by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Teresa mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Teresa is “a female given name from Ancient Greek, the Spanish and Italian form of Theresa.”
First recorded as the name of a fourth-century Spanish saint. Of obscure origin; suggestions include Therasia or Thera, ancient name of the Greek island Thira.
/təˈɹiː.sə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Teresa?
#911 among girls’ names, 2025
Teresa fell from #668 in 2015 to #911 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.24 to 0.18 per 1,000.
18,949 babies in 1961, the peak
Teresa peaked in 1961, when 18,949 babies were given it (18,909 girls, #18 among girls’ names). The 291 births of 2025 are 2% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 291 | #911 | 0.18 |
| 2024 | 314 | #864 | 0.19 |
| 2023 | 322 | #843 | 0.20 |
| 2022 | 320 | #868 | 0.20 |
| 2021 | 342 | #815 | 0.21 |
| 2020 | 366 | #747 | 0.23 |
| 2019 | 349 | #796 | 0.21 |
| 2018 | 347 | #791 | 0.20 |
| 2017 | 397 | #723 | 0.23 |
| 2016 | 437 | #670 | 0.25 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 429 | #668 | 0.24 |
| 2014 | 391 | #718 | 0.22 |
| 2013 | 437 | #650 | 0.25 |
| 2012 | 472 | #607 | 0.27 |
| 2011 | 544 | #535 | 0.31 |
| 2010 | 412 | #694 | 0.23 |
| 2009 | 453 | #654 | 0.25 |
| 2008 | 534 | #579 | 0.28 |
| 2007 | 563 | #547 | 0.29 |
| 2006 | 566 | #533 | 0.30 |
| 2005 | 672 | #453 | 0.36 |
| 2004 | 747 | #409 | 0.41 |
| 2003 | 704 | #428 | 0.39 |
| 2002 | 787 | #376 | 0.44 |
| 2001 | 830 | #357 | 0.46 |
| 2000 | 899 | #344 | 0.50 |
| 1999 | 975 | #319 | 0.55 |
| 1998 | 981 | #309 | 0.56 |
| 1997 | 1,077 | #270 | 0.62 |
| 1996 | 1,070 | #270 | 0.61 |
| 1995 | 1,044 | #263 | 0.59 |
| 1994 | 1,098 | #255 | 0.61 |
| 1993 | 1,233 | #226 | 0.68 |
| 1992 | 1,371 | #209 | 0.74 |
| 1991 | 1,490 | #202 | 0.79 |
| 1990 | 1,613 | #179 | 0.85 |
| 1989 | 1,534 | #184 | 0.83 |
| 1988 | 1,633 | #172 | 0.92 |
| 1987 | 1,781 | #154 | 1.0 |
| 1986 | 2,011 | #139 | 1.2 |
| 1985 | 2,210 | #132 | 1.3 |
| 1984 | 2,387 | #117 | 1.4 |
| 1983 | 2,702 | #103 | 1.6 |
| 1982 | 2,883 | #102 | 1.7 |
| 1981 | 3,121 | #97 | 1.9 |
| 1980 | 3,149 | #94 | 1.9 |
| 1979 | 3,481 | #87 | 2.2 |
| 1978 | 3,472 | #88 | 2.3 |
| 1977 | 3,654 | #79 | 2.4 |
| 1976 | 4,056 | #66 | 2.8 |
| 1975 | 4,640 | #61 | 3.2 |
| 1974 | 5,397 | #52 | 3.7 |
| 1973 | 5,986 | #45 | 4.1 |
| 1972 | 7,176 | #39 | 4.7 |
| 1971 | 8,563 | #34 | 5.1 |
| 1970 | 9,612 | #34 | 5.5 |
| 1969 | 10,357 | #32 | 6.1 |
| 1968 | 10,912 | #30 | 6.7 |
| 1967 | 12,272 | #28 | 7.4 |
| 1966 | 13,024 | #29 | 7.7 |
| 1965 | 14,578 | #24 | 8.3 |
| 1964 | 16,420 | #21 | 8.7 |
| 1963 | 17,965 | #18 | 9.3 |
| 1962 | 18,517 | #18 | 9.4 |
| 1961 | 18,909 | #18 | 9.4 |
| 1960 | 18,839 | #19 | 9.3 |
| 1959 | 17,400 | #24 | 8.6 |
| 1958 | 15,602 | #26 | 7.8 |
| 1957 | 15,687 | #24 | 7.7 |
| 1956 | 14,464 | #24 | 7.2 |
| 1955 | 13,126 | #26 | 6.7 |
| 1954 | 10,841 | #34 | 5.6 |
| 1953 | 8,932 | #42 | 4.7 |
| 1952 | 7,294 | #52 | 3.9 |
| 1951 | 6,213 | #63 | 3.5 |
| 1950 | 4,724 | #81 | 2.8 |
| 1949 | 4,328 | #82 | 2.5 |
| 1948 | 4,217 | #82 | 2.5 |
| 1947 | 2,809 | #121 | 1.6 |
| 1946 | 1,834 | #148 | 1.2 |
| 1945 | 1,339 | #171 | 1.0 |
| 1944 | 1,204 | #181 | 0.91 |
| 1943 | 1,194 | #186 | 0.86 |
| 1942 | 1,002 | #203 | 0.74 |
| 1941 | 716 | #241 | 0.59 |
| 1940 | 686 | #244 | 0.60 |
| 1939 | 649 | #245 | 0.59 |
| 1938 | 695 | #236 | 0.63 |
| 1937 | 661 | #242 | 0.62 |
| 1936 | 675 | #239 | 0.65 |
| 1935 | 715 | #234 | 0.68 |
| 1934 | 706 | #238 | 0.68 |
| 1933 | 753 | #223 | 0.75 |
| 1932 | 855 | #211 | 0.80 |
| 1931 | 947 | #192 | 0.89 |
| 1930 | 992 | #194 | 0.88 |
| 1929 | 1,021 | #192 | 0.91 |
| 1928 | 1,212 | #172 | 1.1 |
| 1927 | 1,211 | #174 | 1.0 |
| 1926 | 1,159 | #181 | 1.0 |
| 1925 | 955 | #206 | 0.78 |
| 1924 | 786 | #233 | 0.63 |
| 1923 | 724 | #243 | 0.60 |
| 1922 | 701 | #244 | 0.58 |
| 1921 | 738 | #245 | 0.60 |
| 1920 | 720 | #243 | 0.60 |
| 1919 | 706 | #240 | 0.62 |
| 1918 | 674 | #247 | 0.58 |
| 1917 | 673 | #241 | 0.62 |
| 1916 | 662 | #242 | 0.63 |
| 1915 | 686 | #229 | 0.70 |
| 1914 | 524 | #235 | 0.69 |
| 1913 | 424 | #236 | 0.68 |
| 1912 | 344 | #242 | 0.62 |
| 1911 | 281 | #233 | 0.67 |
| 1910 | 220 | #258 | 0.55 |
| 1909 | 215 | #241 | 0.62 |
| 1908 | 233 | #225 | 0.70 |
| 1907 | 191 | #249 | 0.60 |
| 1906 | 198 | #222 | 0.67 |
| 1905 | 178 | #238 | 0.61 |
| 1904 | 179 | #230 | 0.65 |
| 1903 | 174 | #229 | 0.66 |
| 1902 | 153 | #253 | 0.58 |
| 1901 | 164 | #225 | 0.69 |
| 1900 | 204 | #220 | 0.68 |
| 1899 | 162 | #217 | 0.70 |
| 1898 | 217 | #199 | 0.84 |
| 1897 | 159 | #215 | 0.68 |
| 1896 | 209 | #192 | 0.88 |
| 1895 | 167 | #209 | 0.71 |
| 1894 | 157 | #213 | 0.70 |
| 1893 | 132 | #229 | 0.62 |
| 1892 | 143 | #215 | 0.67 |
| 1891 | 131 | #204 | 0.71 |
| 1890 | 110 | #233 | 0.58 |
| 1889 | 113 | #218 | 0.63 |
| 1888 | 111 | #219 | 0.62 |
| 1887 | 107 | #196 | 0.73 |
| 1886 | 84 | #218 | 0.58 |
| 1885 | 66 | #251 | 0.50 |
| 1884 | 78 | #213 | 0.60 |
| 1883 | 64 | #226 | 0.57 |
| 1882 | 50 | #245 | 0.46 |
| 1881 | 46 | #234 | 0.50 |
| 1880 | 50 | #218 | 0.55 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Teresa a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Teresa has been given almost only to girls: 1,165 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Teresa: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Teresa, and how old are they?
338,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 81% of the 417,209 Americans ever recorded as Teresa. The median Teresa alive today is 62 years old; half are between 55 and 68.
The 2020 Census counted 402,455 people named Teresa (402,053 women and girls, 402 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 354,630 born in the U.S. The Census count is 13% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 4,880 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 178,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 111,000 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 28,400 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 11,100 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 4,710 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Teresa born?
The states with the most babies named Teresa are California, Texas and Ohio, with 23% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 41,402 | #813 | 1.1× |
| Texas | 29,693 | #712 | 1.1× |
| Ohio | 22,630 | #1,678 | 1.0× |
| New York | 22,338 | #1,159 | 0.6× |
| North Carolina | 18,781 | #1,426 | 1.6× |
| Illinois | 16,575 | #511 | 0.7× |
| Pennsylvania | 15,626 | #1,004 | 0.7× |
| Tennessee | 14,852 | #970 | 1.6× |
| Georgia | 13,833 | #908 | 1.3× |
| Indiana | 13,785 | not ranked | 1.2× |
Where Teresa is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Teresa is most over-represented in Tennessee: since 1910 it was given 1.6 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Teresa with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 851,148 babies since 1880, Teresa is the most given (49% of them). In 2025 it was given to 291 of their 438 babies (66%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Teresa
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Teresa and names like it
- Compare Teresa and TheresaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1960sTeresa peaked in 1961.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Teresa since 1910.
- The top names of 1961The year the most babies were named Teresa.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Teresa alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with TMost given first.