Theresea
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "harvester".
Name Census estimates that about 205 living Americans carry the first name Theresea. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Theresea today is around 64 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Theresea births was 1957 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Theresea. 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
205
~ 1 in 1,671,972 Americans
Peak year
1957
17 babies that year
Average age
64
years old
1988 SSA rank
#13,739
Tracked since 1928
Census
Theresea in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 252 people with the first name Theresea, which placed it at #33,030 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
#33,030
National first-name rank
People counted
252
252 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
71.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Theresea
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Theresea is White at 71.0%. The next largest groups are Black (17.1%) and Hispanic (6.3%). 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 Theresea 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 Theresea at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.0% · 179
- Black or African American17.1% · 43
- Hispanic or Latino6.3% · 16
- Two or more races3.2% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Popularity
Theresea: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Theresea from the 1920s through to the 1980s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 120 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
Theresea 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 Theresea 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 Theresea
Theresea is a feminine given name that traces its origins to the Greek language. It is derived from the Greek word "therizo," which means "to harvest" or "to reap." The name likely originated in ancient Greece during the Classical period, around the 5th century BC.
The earliest known record of the name Theresea appears in ancient Greek texts and documents from that era. It was a relatively uncommon name in ancient Greece, but it held significance as a reference to agriculture and the importance of the harvest in Greek society.
In the early Christian era, the name Theresea gained popularity due to its association with Saint Theresa of Avila, a prominent Spanish mystic and reformer who lived from 1515 to 1582. Her influential writings and teachings helped to spread the name throughout Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Theresea was Theresea of Portugal, a Portuguese infanta who lived from 1178 to 1250. She was a member of the Portuguese royal family and is remembered for her piety and charitable works.
In the 17th century, Theresea Maria Raphael of Bourbon, a French princess, was born in 1667 and lived until 1730. She was a member of the House of Bourbon and played a significant role in the political intrigues of the French court during her lifetime.
Another notable figure with the name Theresea was Theresea Bernarda of Leiria, a Portuguese nun and mystic who lived from 1766 to 1828. She was known for her spiritual visions and writings, and her cause for beatification was introduced in the 19th century.
In the 19th century, Theresea Bertinotti Radicati, an Italian countess and philanthropist, was born in 1823 and died in 1904. She dedicated her life to charitable works and the education of disadvantaged children in Italy.
Finally, Theresea Merritt, an American writer and activist, was born in 1922 and lived until 2015. She was a prominent figure in the civil rights movement and an advocate for racial equality and social justice.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Theresea. While the name has Greek origins and was relatively uncommon in ancient times, it gained wider recognition and popularity in various cultures and regions due to its association with saints, royalty, and influential figures across different eras.
People
Theresea + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Theresea 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
Theresea: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Theresea?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 205 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Theresea 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 1,671,972 US residents.
Is Theresea a common name?
We classify Theresea as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 273 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Theresea most popular?
The single biggest year for Theresea was 1957, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Theresea is about 64 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Theresea in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 252 people with the name Theresea, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,030 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 Theresea 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 Theresea?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Theresea leans strongly female. 246 people counted with this name were female (98.8%), compared with 3 male bearers (1.2%). 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 Theresea?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Theresea is White at 71.0%. The next largest groups are Black (17.1%) and Hispanic (6.3%). 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 Theresea most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Theresea in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.0% (179 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 Theresea in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Theresea a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Theresea 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 Theresea still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Theresea 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 Theresea 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 common is the name Theresea?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Theresea, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.