How common is the name Theresa?

278,873 people in the United States have the first name Theresa, about 1 in 1,083. It ranks #192 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

THERESA

#192

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
278,873
About
1 in 1,083
This common or more
40.8%
Who bears it

Of the 278,873 people named Theresa, 76.7% reported their origin as White, 10% as Black and 7.2% as Hispanic or Latino. Virtually all are female (99.9%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Theresa peaked in 1961, when 11,991 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
1961
Births that year
11,991
In 2025*
136 ▼99%
Recorded as
almost entirely female

At least 405,831 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Theresa by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1960s, when it ranked #81. The largest share of babies named Theresa, 40.8%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).

1880s#1842,505
1890s#1484,735
1900s#1406,406
1910s#16518,375
1920s#13036,795
1930s#14032,945
1940s#17035,894
1950s#8389,789
1960s#8197,412
1970s#15140,250
1980s#26322,507
1990s#53310,606
2000s#1,1514,555
2010s#2,0622,198
2020s#2,778859
Before 19011.9%
Greatest Generation 1901–2712.4%
Silent Generation 1928–4514.8%
Baby boom 1946–6440.8%
Generation X 1965–8020.7%
Millennials 1981–966.9%
Generation Z 1997–121.9%
2013 and later0.6%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Theresa is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Theresa has been most common in Vermont (2.1×), Maine (2×), and Rhode Island (2×), and least common in Utah (0.17×).

388,729 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Theresa

#190 Helen · 280,357#191 Shawn · 279,685#193 Tammy · 277,310#194 Joe · 275,876

Spelled almost the same

8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Theresa, most common first.

#1,301 Therese · 28,317#7,579 Theresia · 2,000#9,151 Theressa · 1,541#9,904 Thersa · 1,374#10,046 Thresa · 1,347#21,915 Thressa · 459#23,000 Threasa · 429#26,555 Therisa · 350

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