Tessa: Baby Name of the Day

The baby name Tessa started out as a sweet nickname for Theresa. Now it outranks the original.

Thanks to Christine for suggesting one of her favorites as our Baby Name of the Day.

WHAT DOES TESSA MEAN?

Theresa counts as a classic.

It likely comes from the Greek word for harvest, though it might also come from theros, meaning summer.

Therasia appears in the historic record as early as the 300s, mostly used in Spain and Portugal. The sixteenth century Saint Teresa of Avila helped spread the name throughout Europe.

Theresa ranked in the US Top 100 from the 1910s into the 1970s, never topping the charts but always steadily in use. Both Theresa and Teresa peaked in the 1960s.

Tessa and Tess are traditional nicknames for Theresa, Teresa, and Therese, so they share the same meanings.

WHEN WAS TESSA FIRST USED AS A GIVEN NAME?

It’s tough to pin down the first use of the baby name Tessa in English.

In general, the names Teresa and Theresa were rare outside of Spain and Portugal until Saint Teresa of Avila’s fame spread in the sixteenth century.

Thomas Hardy’s 1891 literary classic Tess of the d’Urbervilles puts Tess in use by the nineteenth century. It’s understood as a nickname – she’s called “Mistress Teresa” in at least one place.

Even earlier, George Eliot gave the name to a character in Romola. Eliot’s novel was published in the 1860s, but took place in Renaissance Florence. The name Tessa appears in Florentine tax records of the 1420s.

More proof that the naming public perceived this one as Italian? Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Gondoliers gave us a romance involving a Venetian girl called Tessa and – as the title implies – a Venetian gondolier.

At peak Theresa in the US, the go-to short form might have been Tracy – or Tracey or Tracie. James Bond’s future wife (yes, really!) introduces herself by saying “Teresa is a saint. I’m known as Tracy.” That’s 1963 for the novel and 1969 for the movie where Bond finally weds – smack in the middle of Theresa’s most popular era. The names are linked only by sound and popular usage. Tracy claims separate origins.

LONGER TESSA NAMES

Of course, the baby name Tessa could be associated with other formal names.

Mary Pickford played Tessibel in 1914’s Tess of the Storm Country, based on a 1909 novel.

Into the 1930s, Tessie ranked in the US Top 1000 as an independent given name. Credit might go to a song from a 1902 Broadway musical – though today’s parents likely think of the Dropkick Murphy’s version. Both were anthems used by the Boston Red Sox.

Names like Tessalyn, Tessianne, and similar constructions were also in use.

The Italian Contessa might be another option, one used as long ago as the Middle Ages.

SADIE, MOLLY, TESSA

Plenty of popular names have shed their roots. Sadie started out as a nickname for Sarah, and Molly came from Mary. Over the years, we forgot many connections, while others – like Katherine called Kate – persist.

In plenty of cases, the nickname form ranks far higher than the original. Hattie outranks Harriet; parents prefer Liam to William.

It’s possible that Tessa is a little different. If Tessie and Tess are nicknames, Tessa almost seems like an attempt to formalize Tessie and Tess without resorting to Teresa – or Tessibel or Contessa.

HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME TESSA?

As an independent choice, the baby name Tessa debuted in the US popularity data in 1891 with just six girls receiving the name.

Compare that to the popularity of Tessie, Teresa, and Theresa at the time and it makes Tessa seem like a relatively late arrival.

In fact, it’s 1964 before the baby name Tessa ranks in the US Top 1000, at #876. It first makes the Top 250 in 1991.

In 2007, the baby name Tessa peaks at #190.

As of 2023, it has retreated to a still familiar #323.

That’s still far more popular than the next closest Tess- name, Teresa, ranked in the 800s.

TESSA AS A NUMBER NAME

All of this makes the baby name Tessa effortlessly familiar, but not too common, either.

Here’s one more intriguing reason to consider the name. Just like Ivy, Finn, and other appealing choices, it can represent a number.

In Latin tessera refers to a cube or square tablet, ultimately taken from a word meaning four. In geometry, a tesseract is a four-dimensional cube. (Though in A Wrinkle in Time, Meg and her brother travel through a tesseract – the wrinkle in time – to the fifth dimension.)

It makes for an intriguing connection, especially if you happen to be considering the baby name Tessa for a fourth child.

TESSA IN POP CULTURE

Over the past two decades, fictional characters by the name Tessa have appeared everywhere. Cassandra Clare gave us one in Mortal Instruments. Speaking of YA, there’s another in Divergent. That’s more than enough to introduce this name to a whole new generation.

Add in characters from the X-Men, an American Girl doll, and plenty of others, and it comes as no surprise that a new generation of parents finds this name perfectly wearable.

SWEET SPOT NAME

The baby name Tessa belongs with the Sweet Spot names: familiar, not invented, neither trendy nor traditional.

It makes a great choice for a daughter, a substitute for Emma and an update to Theresa.

What do you think of the baby name Tessa?

First published on October 4, 2017, this post was updated on August 29, 2024.