Tess

Where Tess comes from

The dictionaries list Tess as a given name — a diminutive of the female given name Teresa — but don't trace where it came from. The record below is what the SSA data shows.

  • 1 syllable
Along the way
  1. 1889
    First appearance
    #1,147 among girls, 6 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1950
    Tess Harper born
    American actress
  3. 1953
    Tess Gerritsen born
    American novelist
  4. 1992
    Peak, #465
    529 babies named Tess — more than any year before or since.
  5. 2012
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #988.
In the dictionary
  • A diminutive of the female given name Teresa.
Namesakes
  • Tess Gerritsen · American novelist, born 1953
  • Tess Harper · American actress, born 1950
  • Tess Lieder · Dutch handball player, born 1993
  • Tess Ledeux · French freestyle skier, born 2001
  • Tess Coady · Australian snowboarder, born 2000

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.