Teresa
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as 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.
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Teresa (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Teresa has been falling over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2005. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | – |
| 2004 | 4 |
| 2005 | 7 |
| 2006 | 3 |
| 2007 | 5 |
| 2008 | 5 |
| 2009 | 2 |
| 2010 | 3 |
| 2011 | 4 |
| 2012 | – |
| 2013 | 2 |
| 2014 | 2 |
| 2015 | 7 |
| 2016 | 5 |
| 2017 | 3 |
| 2018 | – |
| 2019 | – |
| 2020 | 4 |
| 2021 | 4 |
| 2022 | 2 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 1,556 |
| 2000 | 1,563 |
| 2001 | 1,587 |
| 2002 | 1,596 |
| 2003 | 1,617 |
| 2004 | 1,642 |
| 2005 | 1,665 |
| 2006 | 1,679 |
| 2007 | 1,706 |
| 2008 | 1,751 |
| 2009 | 1,749 |
| 2010 | 1,752 |
| 2011 | 1,750 |
| 2012 | 1,744 |
| 2013 | 1,753 |
| 2014 | 1,766 |
| 2015 | 1,772 |
| 2016 | 1,784 |
| 2017 | 1,789 |
| 2018 | 1,779 |
| 2019 | 1,766 |
| 2020 | 1,765 |
Teresa in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Teresa.Hi! My name is Teresa.
- Teresa ringde och sa att hon blir lite sen.Teresa called and said she'll be a bit late.
- Teresa har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Teresa has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Teresas mamma är lärare.Teresa's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Teresas mamma is Teresa's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Teresa
How do you pronounce Teresa in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Teresa in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Teresa mean?
Wiktionary describes it as 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.
How popular is Teresa in Sweden?
2 babies were named Teresa in 2022. In 2020, 1,765 people in Sweden had Teresa as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been falling lately and peaked in 2005 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.