Girls' name · peaked in 1962
Teresa name popularity since 1925
404,085 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Teresa. Half of them were born in 1962 or earlier, so the typical Teresa is about 64 years old in 2026. Teresa peaked in 1962 as the #18 name for girls, and it ranked #911 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 404,085
- Named Teresa, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #911
- for girls in 2025 (291 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.7% girls
- 402,936 girls · 1,149 boys
- Most popular in
- Tennessee
- 1.74× its national share
Peak year is the year Teresa made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Teresa births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1961. Measured as a share of all babies, Teresa peaked in 1962.
- Fastest rise: Between 1946 and 1951, Teresa became 3× more common, from 1 in 857 baby girls to 1 in 290.
- Steepest fall: Between 1972 and 1977, its share of baby girls fell by 49%, from 1 in 212 to 1 in 420.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Teresa's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Teresa.
Decade by decade
Babies named Teresa in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 5,558 | 23 | – |
| 1930s | 7,648 | 46 | #234 |
| 1940s | 19,329 | 45 | #171 |
| 1950s | 114,283 | 231 | #26 |
| 1960s | 151,793 | 411 | #24 |
| 1970s | 56,037 | 233 | #61 |
| 1980s | 23,411 | 132 | #132 |
| 1990s | 11,952 | 28 | #263 |
| 2000s | 6,755 | 0 | #453 |
| 2010s | 4,215 | 0 | #668 |
| 2020–25 | 1,955 | 0 | #911 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
54.1% of babies named Teresa from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Teresa is most popular
The index compares Teresa's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Teresa.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | 1.74× | 14,845 |
| West Virginia | 1.70× | 6,077 |
| Kentucky | 1.64× | 11,130 |
| North Carolina | 1.63× | 18,781 |
| Idaho | 1.44× | 2,327 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Teresa and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Teresa (this page) | 402,936 | 1962 |
| Theresa | 359,417 | 1961 |
| Teressa | 6,276 | 1960 |
| Terresa | 1,571 | 1962 |
| Tereasa | 1,415 | 1964 |
| Terisa | 1,030 | 1968 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Teresa's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Teresa.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Teresa (1962).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data