Teresa

Teresa is a feminine given name of uncertain ultimate origin, most likely derived from the Greek toponym Therasia, the name of a small island near Santorini, though some scholars propose a connection to the Greek verb therizein, meaning to harvest or to reap. The name was first borne by the fifth-century Spanish saint Tharasia, wife of Paulinus of Nola, and later gained widespread veneration through the influential Spanish mystic Teresa of Ávila and the modern humanitarian figure Teresa of Calcutta. Its popularity spread across Catholic Europe and beyond, producing the closely related variants Theresa, Therese, Thérèse, and Reza, as well as diminutive forms such as Tess and Terry.