Teresa

Teresa, Theresa, and Therese (French: Thérèse) are feminine given names. The name may be derived from the Greek verb θερίζω (therízō), meaning to harvest.

Its popularity likely increased because of the prominence of several Roman Catholic saints, including Teresa of Ávila, Thérèse of Lisieux and, most recently, Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

The popularity of this name in the United States over the last 15 years is falling, according to the US Census. Spelled "Theresa", it was ranked as the 852nd most popular name for girls born in 2008, down from 226th in 1992 (it ranked 65th in 1950, and 102nd in 1900). Spelled "Teresa", it was the 580th most popular name for girls born in 2008, down from 206th in 1992 (it ranked 81st in 1950, and 220th in 1900).

Name variants

Thérésa (singer)

Thérésa (born Eugénie Emma Valladon but cited simply as Emma Valladon; 25 April 1837 — 14 May 1913) was a French singer. She often worked with Suzanne Lagier and had cartoons (caricatures) drawn by André Gill of her for the newspaper La Lune.

Biography

Eugénie Emma Valladon (but often cited simply as Emma Valladon) was born the daughter of a musician in La Bazoche-Gouet in the Eure-et-Loir department of France on 25 April 1837. As a child, Valladon dreamt of being a singer but began her career working in fashion studios.

She began her singing career by performing in small café chantants (cafe concerts) in Paris, such as in the Café Moka, Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin and the Café des Giants, enjoying modest success. During a Christmas show, Valladon was noticed by Arsène Goubert, the director of the café chantant Alcazar, who offered her three hundred francs to sing there; at this she began to use the stage name Thérésa. Within a month of her arrival at the Alcazar, Thérésa enjoyed great success both with the public and critics, and also later went to perform in Rome, Italy, and Saint Petersburg, Russia. She often worked with Suzanne Lagier and in the case of "El", they were appreciated by the public but not the critics. Increasing her popularity, Thérésa was depicted in several cartoons (caricatures) by André Gill in the newspaper La Lune. From 1867 to 1869, she took a break from singing as a result of laryngitis, which made her lose her voice, but then returned with the "popular" Les canards tyroliens.