Teresa

Teresa, Theresa (f) Theresa is the slightly more common
spelling of this name in Scotland, which in Greek possibly
meant ‘inhabitant of Thera’ (now Thira or Santorin). This
is an island in the Aegean Sea which has known many
volcanic eruptions. One of them, in the fifteenth century
B.C., may have given rise to the Atlantis legend. As the
name of a popular saint, Teresa has long been favoured by Roman Catholic families.

The name was in 45th place in Scotland in 1935, when Teresa and Theresa were counted together. In 1958 Theresa was ranked 75th, Teresa 100th. Terese, Therese and Theresia are occasionally found. The pet forms are Terry, Tessa and Tracy, all of which are used as independent names.

Tracy (f) Also Tracey. Originally a pet form of Teresa,
though Terry or Terrie is now more usual in that role.
The modern use of Tracy (less often Tracey) owes much to the film High Society (1956) in which Grace Kelly played the part of Tracy Samantha Lord. Samantha and Kelly as girls’ names also seem to date from that time. Tracy has been a huge success in England and Wales in recent years. It has been intensively used in Scotland in the late 1970’S.

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