Theresa

I actually wonder if this was an Ibero-Latin offshoot of Tirzah. There were a lot of Jews in Medieval Spain and I wonder if this is somehow related based on other Tirzah offshoots found throughout Medieval Europe that look somewhat similar, such as Durst.

My name is actually Therese. Pronounced TER-raze. I'm named after the beautiful St Therese of Lisieux. She is nicknamed the Little Flower since she had such a beautiful and delicate nature. The name is French and means 'the reaper' or 'She knows' and many famous people like princesses and duchesses have been called either Therese or a derivative. I think that anyone who has the unique name or derivative should feel extremely happy to have such a lovely and rare name.

In addition to the possible etymologies already mentioned in the entry for Theresa, there is also an other possible etymology that is frequently proposed for Theresa.

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Namely, that Theresa is derived from Greek θήρευσις (thēreusis) meaning "hunting, the chase", which is ultimately derived from the Greek verb θηρεύω (thēreuō) meaning "to hunt". Also compare the related verb θηράω (thēraō) meaning "to hunt, to chase".

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By the way, I have also seen one source claim that Theresa is derived from (or related to) the Greek verb τηρέω (tēreō) meaning "to watch over, to take care of, to guard", but that possibility seems less likely. After all, that verb doesn't contain the 'th-' that Theresa starts with.

The feminine form of the Greek name Teiresias (Teereseeas in Greek), a famous oracle of Greek mythology.