Theresa
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Ancient Greek, variant of Teresa. First used in Spain, supposedly derived from Latin Thēra, from Ancient Greek Θήρᾱ (Thḗrā), name of a city in Santorini, Greece.
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Theresa (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, Theresa has been falling over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2011. 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 | 5 |
| 2005 | 4 |
| 2006 | 3 |
| 2007 | 2 |
| 2008 | 4 |
| 2009 | 4 |
| 2010 | 3 |
| 2011 | 6 |
| 2012 | 2 |
| 2013 | 2 |
| 2014 | – |
| 2015 | – |
| 2016 | 5 |
| 2017 | – |
| 2018 | – |
| 2019 | – |
| 2020 | – |
| 2021 | 2 |
| 2022 | – |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 540 |
| 2000 | 552 |
| 2001 | 561 |
| 2002 | 575 |
| 2003 | 587 |
| 2004 | 598 |
| 2005 | 611 |
| 2006 | 621 |
| 2007 | 629 |
| 2008 | 645 |
| 2009 | 650 |
| 2010 | 655 |
| 2011 | 659 |
| 2012 | 659 |
| 2013 | 672 |
| 2014 | 679 |
| 2015 | 682 |
| 2016 | 692 |
| 2017 | 694 |
| 2018 | 698 |
| 2019 | 703 |
| 2020 | 712 |
Theresa in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Theresa.Hi! My name is Theresa.
- Theresa ringde och sa att hon blir lite sen.Theresa called and said she'll be a bit late.
- Jag ska fika med Theresa i eftermiddag.I'm having coffee with Theresa this afternoon.
- Theresas mamma är lärare.Theresa's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Theresas mamma is Theresa's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Theresa
How do you pronounce Theresa in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Theresa in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Theresa mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Ancient Greek, variant of Teresa. First used in Spain, supposedly derived from Latin Thēra, from Ancient Greek Θήρᾱ (Thḗrā), name of a city in Santorini, Greece.
How popular is Theresa in Sweden?
Fewer than two babies of either sex were named Theresa in 2022. In 2020, 712 people in Sweden had Theresa as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been falling lately and peaked in 2011 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.