How popular is the baby name Therese in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Therese.

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Popularity of the baby name Therese


Posts that mention the name Therese

Where did the baby name Dreux come from in 1956?

The wedding of Henry and Marie-Thérèse in Dreux, France, in 1957.
Henri & Marie-Thérèse

What drew people to the baby name Dreux in 1956?

  • 1958: 9 baby boys named Dreux
  • 1957: 6 baby boys named Dreux
  • 1956: 9 baby boys named Dreux [debut]
  • 1955: unlisted
  • 1954: unlisted

I’m not 100% sure, but I think I’ve got a decent theory.

Let’s start with Grace Kelly. In April of 1956, she was married to Prince Rainier in a lavish wedding that got worldwide press coverage.

Later the same year, in November, two engagements were announced:

  • Prince Henri of Orleans, to Duchess Marie-Thérèse of Württemberg, and
  • Princess Hélène of Orleans, to Count Evrard of Limbourg-Styrum.

Henri and Hélène were the 2nd and 3rd children of the Count of Paris, claimant to the long-gone throne of France. Henri, importantly, was the eldest son.

Newspapers claimed Henri’s upcoming marriage would be “THE Wedding of 1957,” and “[t]he most important marriage to be celebrated in France since Napoleon III wed Princess Eugenie.” They said that “as far as European royalty is concerned it will make that Rainier-Kelly wedding in Monaco last spring look like a musical comedy.”

And all the announcements were sure to mention that both couples would marry in the royal chapel in the town of Dreux, located in north-central France.

Hélène and Evrard wed in January:

Henri and Duchess Marie-Thérèse wed in July:

My only reservation regarding this theory is that place names highlighted in the news don’t typically turn into baby names. That said…Dreux in an American accent sounds a lot like Drew, the nickname for Andrew, so perhaps that’s the key here.

What are your thoughts on Dreux as a baby name? (Do you have any alternate theories about where this one might have come from?)

Sources:

  • “France Preparing for Royal Wedding Early Next Summer.” Bend Bulletin [Bend, Oregon] 22 Nov. 1956: 13.
  • “Royalty All Set for THE Wedding of 1957.” Indiana Evening Gazette [Indiana, Pennsylvania] 23 Nov. 1956: 12.
  • Henri d’Orléans (1908-1999) – Wikipédia

Image: © 1957 Life

Girl names that can be shortened to Izzy?

A friend of mine announced her pregnancy a few weeks ago (congrats, E!). She doesn’t know the gender of the baby yet, but if it’s a girl, she thinks she’d like to use the name Isabella.

The problem? Isabella has been one of the most popular baby names in the nation for almost a decade now. My friend is still prepared to use it, but she’s also wondering what else is out there.

What she likes most about Isabella is the nickname Izzy, so I thought I’d help her out by coming up other girl names that can be shortened to Izzy. Some of these may be a stretch, but this is a brainstorm so anything goes. :)

Isabel/Isabelle
Part of the same name-family, but not as popular as Isabella.

Isidora/Isadora
Isabella and Isidora aren’t related (the former is based on Elizabeth, the latter on Isis) but they sound like they could be.

Elizabeth or Lizette
Why not lop the L off Lizzy and make it Izzy?

Giselle
French name that can be traced back to a Germanic word meaning “pledge.” Popularized recently by model Gisele, but still outside the top 100.

Desiree (Désirée)
French name meaning “desired.”

Zipporah (Tzipora, Tzipporah, etc.)
Hebrew name meaning “bird.”

Cosima
Italian name derived from the ancient Greek word for “order.”

Louisa or Louise
Derived from Ludwig, made up of elements meaning “fame” and “war.”

Eloise (Éloïse) or Heloise (Héloïse)
Might come from the Germanic name Helewidis, comprised of elements meaning “hale” and either “wide” or “wood.”

Therese (Thérèse)
Unknown etymology, though perhaps based on the name of a Greek island.

Aziza
Arabic name meaning “powerful.”

Aliza
Hebrew name meaning “joyful.”

Can you think of any other girl names that can be shortened to Izzy?

Baby name needed: Girl name for Olivia & Marie’s sister

Lise is expecting her third little girl and would like some name suggestions. Her first two daughters are named Olivia and Marie. She says:

We have a long last name so it has to be easy to spell. Also we speak French and would like the name to be easy to pronounce in French and English.

Here are a few names that I thought might work:

Adele
Amelie
Andrea
Angeline
Anna
Camille
Caroline
Cassandra
Celia
Charlotte
Clara
Danielle		Elodie
Emma
Estelle
Eva
Gabrielle
Iris
Josephine
Julia/Julie
Justine
Laura
Louisa/Louise
Lucille		Natalie
Nicole
Nina
Pauline
Penelope
Rebecca
Rosalie
Sarah
Sophie
Stephanie
Therese
Valerie

Which of the above do you like best with Olivia and Marie? What other names would you suggest to Lise?

Baby name needed: Girl name for Cecily’s sister

A reader named Baccara has a daughter named Cecily. She’s expecting a second baby girl in May, and she’d like some name suggestions. She writes:

To give you an idea of our style, we like feminine names. We also tend to gravitate towards more unusual names, or at least ones that are not trendy.

Here are three names she and her husband are considering:

  • “Charlotte has always been a contender (during both pregnancies), although its popularity is now becoming somewhat of a deterrent.”
  • Camilla. “However, after reading your December post on sibling names, I am concerned that both names are too overtly similar (first initial, number of syllables) to work well together.”
  • Adele, though Baccara’s “husband is concerned with it having a religious affiliation (Hebrew).”

Their surname is a one-syllable N-name, so short names and names that end with n are out.

First, a couple of thoughts:

Cecily and Camilla do have the same first letter and number of syllables. But they don’t start with the same sound, and they don’t have the same rhythm. So I agree that they’re similar, but I don’t know if they’re too close. I think they might work pretty well together, in fact.

I also like Adele with Cecily. The name isn’t Hebrew in origin, though. It’s based on the Germanic word adal, meaning noble. (The first half of Adelaide comes from the same place.) I’m not aware of the name Adele being strongly associated with religion. (Am I overlooking something?)

Here are some other names that I think sound good with Cecily:

Allegra
Althea
Anastasia
Augusta
Aurora
Bianca
Dorothy
Eloisa		Fabiana
Felicia/Felice
Flora
Francesca
Gemma
Geneva
Genevieve
Isidora		Junia
Leona/Leonora
Lydia
Marcella
Margot
Minerva
Miranda
Miriam		Muriel
Phoebe
Portia
Rosemary
Therese
Valencia
Wilhelmina
Yvette

(I omitted Amelia, Evelyn, Vanessa and Victoria because I thought they might be too trendy/popular for Baccara’s taste.)

Which of the names above do you like best with Cecily? What other name suggestions would you offer to Baccara?

Update – Scroll down to find out what the baby was named!