Therese

Meaning of Therese

Therese—pronounced in English as teh-REES and in French as teh-REZ—springs from the Greek verb thērízō, “to harvest,” a lexical seed that, after passing through the Latin Teresa and the Iberian Theresa, has ripened into a Gallic blossom redolent of devotion and intellectual fecundity. Across the centuries the name has lingered like incense in stone cloisters, borne aloft by Saint Teresa of Ávila, whose disciplined mysticism re-charted the Catholic mind, and by Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, the “Little Flower” whose quiet petals altered the modern theology of grace. In American vital statistics, Therese traces a slender yet luminous filament—its ranking fluctuating but never extinguished—suggesting a perennial candle that withstands the drafts of fashion. Phonetically elegant, the name concludes with a gentle sibilance that caresses the ear, while its agrarian etymology offers parents an implicit benediction: may the life of the child be a harvested field, abundant with virtue, wisdom, and serene joy.