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In medieval Italy it has ben used as a short form for "Contessa", especially around Florence, to honour a local countess

Sometimes, but not always, it can be a nn for Theresa.

It would be a form of Theresa wouldn't it?

I don't, but...I knew a girl name Tessa. She was super smart and an extreme liberal.

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Otessa is also a nice name if you want something more formal.

Since it is a diminutive of Theresa/Teresa it means the same thing and under Theresa it says:

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"From the Spanish and Portuguese name Teresa. It was first recorded as Therasia, being borne by the Spanish wife of Saint Paulinus of Nola in the 4th century. The meaning is uncertain, but it could be derived from Greek θερος (theros) "SUMMER", from Greek θεριζω (therizo) "TO HARVEST", or from the name of the Greek ISLAND OF THERASIA (the western island of Santorini).
The name was mainly confined to Spain and Portugal during the Middle Ages. After the 16th century it was spread to other parts of the Christian world, due to the fame of the Spanish nun and reformer Saint Teresa of Ávila. Another famous bearer was the Austrian Habsburg queen Maria Theresa (1717-1780), who inherited the domains of her father, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI, beginning the War of the Austrian Succession."

Tessa means Harvester. And it's Greek, by the way. Also here is a funny fact, Tessa is a type of bank account in England (Tax-Exempt Special Savings Account).

It's a nickname for Theresa, so it doesn't really have a meaning. Unless you want to count the meaning of Theresa, but I don't like to say nicknames as full names retain the same meaing as the full name.

I would hazard a guess that it's a diminutive form of Teresa and thus shares its meaning with that name.