Tressa
A girl's name with 7,027 recorded U.S. births.
Meaning & Origin
Tressa sits in the still in active use zone of American naming: first recorded in 1880, peaking in 1971, with 7,027 total births across its history.
The open, warm quality of its ending — a soft ending that crosses many language boundaries — keeps the name compact and easy to pair with longer middle names or surnames.
In the most recent SSA release, Tressa ranks #17428 among U.S. girl names — distinctive enough to stand out.
Tressa is a girl's baby name of Cornish origin, a traditional Cornish diminutive of Teresa — the feminine of Terence or derived from Thérèse. In Cornwall, Tressa has been used as an independent name for centuries, carrying the rugged, sea-salt character of the Cornish peninsula.
Rare outside Cornwall but full of character, Tressa has the warmth of a name that has survived on a rocky Atlantic coastline — tough and beautiful in equal measure.
EtymologyShow more
Though Tressa dates back to 1880 in U.S. records, its etymological path is not always straightforward. Names that predate modern naming databases sometimes resist easy classification — they may have been oral traditions, regional family names, or adaptations that were never systematically recorded.
Tressa’s 7,027 recorded births provide enough of a footprint to establish it as a real, chosen name in American culture — not a typo or a one-off, but a deliberate selection by hundreds of families.
At a Glance
Popularity Over Time
Tressa was #2993 twenty years ago and has since drifted to #17428, but its charm endures.
Popularity by Decade
| Decade | Births | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 41 | ▼ |
| 2010s | 220 | ▼ |
| 2000s | 509 | ▼ |
| 1990s | 766 | — |
| 1980s | 775 | ▼ |
| 1970s | 1,450 | ▲ |
| 1960s | 1,034 | ▲ |
| 1950s | 464 | ▲ |
| 1940s | 219 | ▲ |
| 1930s | 211 | ▼ |
| 1920s | 385 | — |
| 1910s | 389 | ▲ |
| 1900s | 233 | ▲ |
| 1890s | 219 | ▲ |
| 1880s | 112 | — |
The Story of Tressa
A Gen X name
Peaking in 1971, Tressa is a Gen X staple. Girls named Tressa are most likely born between 1961 and 1981.
How rare is Tressa?
Only about 1 in every 720,000 babies born in 2024 was named Tressa — a truly uncommon choice.
The journey through the decades
First appeared in the records in 1880, gained momentum through the mid-century, peaked in the 1970s with 1,450 births that decade, and has since become a rare, vintage choice.
Tressa by the numbers
- Would fill 146 school buses
- Meeting one Tressa per day would take 19.3 years
Year-by-Year Data
View complete yearly data(145 years, 1880–2024)
| Year | Births | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 5 | #17428 |
| 2023 | 8 | #12088 |
| 2022 | 8 | #12150 |
| 2021 | 6 | #15095 |
| 2020 | 14 | #7927 |
| 2019 | 20 | #6163 |
| 2018 | 9 | #11361 |
| 2017 | 12 | #9303 |
| 2016 | 15 | #7947 |
| 2015 | 24 | #5641 |
| 2014 | 17 | #7280 |
| 2013 | 32 | #4528 |
| 2012 | 32 | #4591 |
| 2011 | 33 | #4456 |
| 2010 | 26 | #5401 |
| 2009 | 33 | #4564 |
| 2008 | 35 | #4444 |
| 2007 | 35 | #4374 |
| 2006 | 48 | #3410 |
| 2005 | 53 | #3050 |
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration. Showing years with 5+ recorded births.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Tressa a boy's or girl's name?
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Data source: U.S. Social Security Administration, 1880–2024