Therese
Therese was given to 79 girls in 2025, #2,324 among girls’ names; 35,595 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 22,700 Americans named Therese and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (64% of everyone recorded); the median is 65 years old and half are between 55 and 71.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Therese by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Therese mean?
Wiktionary, Swedish section
Therese is “a female given name, equivalent to English Teresa”
From French Thérèse.
/tɛˈreːs/
Meaning: Wiktionary, Swedish section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Therese?
#2,324 among girls’ names, 2025
Therese rose from #2,807 in 2015 to #2,324 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 35.3 to 49.2 per million.
1,211 babies in 1959, the peak
Therese peaked in 1959, when 1,211 girls were given it, #252 among girls’ names. The 79 births of 2025 are 7% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 79 | #2,324 | 0.05 |
| 2024 | 87 | #2,197 | 0.05 |
| 2023 | 71 | #2,513 | 0.04 |
| 2022 | 68 | #2,603 | 0.04 |
| 2021 | 53 | #3,108 | 0.03 |
| 2020 | 54 | #3,011 | 0.03 |
| 2019 | 45 | #3,497 | 0.03 |
| 2018 | 68 | #2,582 | 0.04 |
| 2017 | 63 | #2,739 | 0.04 |
| 2016 | 79 | #2,382 | 0.04 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 63 | #2,807 | 0.04 |
| 2014 | 73 | #2,494 | 0.04 |
| 2013 | 49 | #3,309 | 0.03 |
| 2012 | 51 | #3,264 | 0.03 |
| 2011 | 47 | #3,449 | 0.03 |
| 2010 | 70 | #2,612 | 0.04 |
| 2009 | 76 | #2,506 | 0.04 |
| 2008 | 79 | #2,440 | 0.04 |
| 2007 | 71 | #2,615 | 0.04 |
| 2006 | 73 | #2,537 | 0.04 |
| 2005 | 91 | #2,071 | 0.05 |
| 2004 | 79 | #2,236 | 0.04 |
| 2003 | 71 | #2,363 | 0.04 |
| 2002 | 96 | #1,863 | 0.05 |
| 2001 | 118 | #1,583 | 0.07 |
| 2000 | 92 | #1,862 | 0.05 |
| 1999 | 103 | #1,633 | 0.06 |
| 1998 | 95 | #1,686 | 0.05 |
| 1997 | 98 | #1,621 | 0.06 |
| 1996 | 78 | #1,877 | 0.04 |
| 1995 | 109 | #1,470 | 0.06 |
| 1994 | 107 | #1,482 | 0.06 |
| 1993 | 113 | #1,434 | 0.06 |
| 1992 | 121 | #1,373 | 0.07 |
| 1991 | 113 | #1,423 | 0.06 |
| 1990 | 116 | #1,367 | 0.06 |
| 1989 | 135 | #1,200 | 0.07 |
| 1988 | 106 | #1,351 | 0.06 |
| 1987 | 133 | #1,127 | 0.08 |
| 1986 | 116 | #1,209 | 0.07 |
| 1985 | 152 | #1,006 | 0.09 |
| 1984 | 153 | #952 | 0.09 |
| 1983 | 155 | #953 | 0.09 |
| 1982 | 164 | #924 | 0.10 |
| 1981 | 163 | #926 | 0.10 |
| 1980 | 154 | #964 | 0.09 |
| 1979 | 168 | #893 | 0.10 |
| 1978 | 142 | #980 | 0.09 |
| 1977 | 154 | #916 | 0.10 |
| 1976 | 175 | #799 | 0.12 |
| 1975 | 174 | #799 | 0.12 |
| 1974 | 188 | #753 | 0.13 |
| 1973 | 227 | #657 | 0.16 |
| 1972 | 174 | #790 | 0.11 |
| 1971 | 237 | #666 | 0.14 |
| 1970 | 304 | #582 | 0.17 |
| 1969 | 337 | #537 | 0.20 |
| 1968 | 408 | #476 | 0.25 |
| 1967 | 442 | #452 | 0.27 |
| 1966 | 557 | #385 | 0.33 |
| 1965 | 721 | #337 | 0.41 |
| 1964 | 853 | #321 | 0.45 |
| 1963 | 970 | #298 | 0.50 |
| 1962 | 1,019 | #285 | 0.52 |
| 1961 | 1,080 | #281 | 0.54 |
| 1960 | 1,197 | #258 | 0.59 |
| 1959 | 1,211 | #252 | 0.60 |
| 1958 | 1,139 | #259 | 0.57 |
| 1957 | 1,131 | #254 | 0.55 |
| 1956 | 1,069 | #257 | 0.53 |
| 1955 | 1,078 | #252 | 0.55 |
| 1954 | 889 | #284 | 0.46 |
| 1953 | 828 | #288 | 0.44 |
| 1952 | 826 | #280 | 0.45 |
| 1951 | 607 | #321 | 0.34 |
| 1950 | 555 | #325 | 0.32 |
| 1949 | 494 | #354 | 0.29 |
| 1948 | 476 | #355 | 0.28 |
| 1947 | 410 | #399 | 0.23 |
| 1946 | 354 | #407 | 0.23 |
| 1945 | 273 | #434 | 0.21 |
| 1944 | 246 | #457 | 0.19 |
| 1943 | 233 | #485 | 0.17 |
| 1942 | 249 | #469 | 0.18 |
| 1941 | 213 | #480 | 0.18 |
| 1940 | 217 | #455 | 0.19 |
| 1939 | 212 | #459 | 0.19 |
| 1938 | 238 | #435 | 0.22 |
| 1937 | 229 | #431 | 0.22 |
| 1936 | 260 | #395 | 0.25 |
| 1935 | 295 | #369 | 0.28 |
| 1934 | 262 | #405 | 0.25 |
| 1933 | 306 | #362 | 0.30 |
| 1932 | 398 | #322 | 0.37 |
| 1931 | 451 | #299 | 0.42 |
| 1930 | 576 | #260 | 0.51 |
| 1929 | 664 | #240 | 0.59 |
| 1928 | 776 | #226 | 0.67 |
| 1927 | 841 | #220 | 0.71 |
| 1926 | 781 | #227 | 0.66 |
| 1925 | 533 | #291 | 0.44 |
| 1924 | 289 | #406 | 0.23 |
| 1923 | 204 | #485 | 0.17 |
| 1922 | 145 | #600 | 0.12 |
| 1921 | 145 | #602 | 0.12 |
| 1920 | 123 | #654 | 0.10 |
| 1919 | 119 | #636 | 0.11 |
| 1918 | 129 | #624 | 0.11 |
| 1917 | 111 | #648 | 0.10 |
| 1916 | 117 | #629 | 0.11 |
| 1915 | 115 | #610 | 0.12 |
| 1914 | 100 | #565 | 0.13 |
| 1913 | 74 | #603 | 0.12 |
| 1912 | 52 | #703 | 0.09 |
| 1911 | 37 | #721 | 0.09 |
| 1910 | 45 | #636 | 0.11 |
| 1909 | 32 | #718 | 0.09 |
| 1908 | 30 | #721 | 0.09 |
| 1907 | 39 | #599 | 0.12 |
| 1906 | 30 | #676 | 0.10 |
| 1905 | 28 | #681 | 0.10 |
| 1904 | 37 | #556 | 0.13 |
| 1903 | 30 | #605 | 0.11 |
| 1902 | 22 | #753 | 0.08 |
| 1901 | 8 | #1,324 | 0.03 |
| 1900 | 26 | #722 | 0.09 |
| 1899 | 22 | #678 | 0.09 |
| 1898 | 22 | #715 | 0.09 |
| 1897 | 26 | #614 | 0.11 |
| 1896 | 16 | #838 | 0.07 |
| 1895 | 33 | #519 | 0.14 |
| 1894 | 17 | #739 | 0.08 |
| 1893 | 20 | #657 | 0.09 |
| 1892 | 12 | #904 | 0.06 |
| 1891 | 23 | #557 | 0.12 |
| 1890 | 13 | #789 | 0.07 |
| 1889 | 11 | #835 | 0.06 |
| 1888 | 14 | #720 | 0.08 |
| 1887 | 9 | #853 | 0.06 |
| 1886 | 15 | #604 | 0.10 |
| 1885 | 13 | #625 | 0.10 |
| 1884 | 12 | #638 | 0.09 |
| 1883 | 5 | #1,040 | 0.04 |
| 1882 | 6 | #893 | 0.06 |
| 1881 | 6 | #818 | 0.07 |
| 1880 | 11 | #543 | 0.12 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Therese a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Therese has been given almost only to girls: 5 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Therese: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Therese, and how old are they?
22,700 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 64% of the 35,595 Americans ever recorded as Therese. The median Therese alive today is 65 years old; half are between 55 and 71.
The 2020 Census counted 28,317 people named Therese (28,289 women and girls, 28 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 24,784 born in the U.S. The Census count is 14% 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 | 1,420 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 12,900 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 4,180 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,980 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,300 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 847 |
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 Therese born?
The states with the most babies named Therese are Illinois, New York and California, with 34% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | 4,223 | not ranked | 2.3× |
| New York | 3,566 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| California | 2,591 | #3,488 | 0.9× |
| Massachusetts | 2,421 | not ranked | 2.3× |
| Ohio | 2,154 | #1,680 | 1.2× |
| Pennsylvania | 1,995 | #1,612 | 0.9× |
| Michigan | 1,986 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Wisconsin | 1,589 | not ranked | 1.9× |
| Minnesota | 1,220 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| New Jersey | 950 | not ranked | 0.9× |
Where Therese is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Therese is most over-represented in Rhode Island: since 1910 it was given 3.9 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 Therese 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 449,689 babies since 1880, Therese is the second most given (7.9% of them). In 2025 it was given to 79 of their 215 babies (37%), again the second 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 Therese
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 Therese and names like it
- Compare Therese and TheresaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sTherese peaked in 1959.
- Illinois’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Therese since 1910.
- Swedish namesWiktionary’s origin for Therese: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1959The year the most babies were named Therese.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Therese alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with TMost given first.