Terry (2)

  • [ TER-ee ]
  • English
Diminutive of TERENCE or THERESA. A famous bearer was Terry Fox (1958-1981), a young man with an artificial leg who attempted to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research. He died of the disease before crossing the country.

TERENCE   male   English
From the Roman family name Terentius which is of unknown meaning. Famous bearers include Publius Terentius Afer, a Roman playwright, and Marcus Terentius Varro, a Roman scholar. It was also borne by several early saints. The name was used in Ireland as an Anglicized form of TOIRDHEALBHACH, but it was not in use as an English name until the late 19th century.
TOIRDHEALBHACH   male   Irish
Means "instigator", derived from Gaelic toirdhealbh "prompting".
THERESA   female   English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
From the Spanish and Portuguese name Teresa. It was first recorded as Therasia, being borne by the Spanish wife of Saint Paulinus of Nola in the 4th century. The meaning is uncertain, but it could be derived from Greek θερος (theros) "summer", from Greek θεριζω (therizo) "to harvest", or from the name of the Greek island of Therasia (the western island of Santorini).

The name was mainly confined to Spain and Portugal during the Middle Ages. After the 16th century it was spread to other parts of the Christian world, due to the fame of the Spanish nun and reformer Saint Teresa of Ávila. Another famous bearer was the Austrian Habsburg queen Maria Theresa (1717-1780), who inherited the domains of her father, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI, beginning the War of the Austrian Succession.
FULL FORMS
ENGLISH: Terance, Terence, Teresa, Terrance, Terrence, Theresa, Therese
EQUIVALENTS
ANCIENT ROMAN: Terentius
BASQUE: Terese
BULGARIAN: Tereza
CROATIAN: Tena, Terezija
CZECH: Tereza, Terezie
DANISH: Teresa, Terese, Theresa, Therese
DUTCH: Tess, Thera, Theresia, Trees
ENGLISH (BRITISH): Tel
ENGLISH: Teri, Terri, Terrie, Tess, Tessa, Tessie, Tracee, Tracey, Traci, Tracie, Tracy
FINNISH: Teresa
FRENCH: Thérèse
GEORGIAN: Terenti
GERMAN: Teresa, Theresa, Therese, Theresia
HUNGARIAN: Teca, Teréz, Terézia
IRISH: Toiréasa, Treasa
ITALIAN: Terenzio, Teresa
LATE ROMAN: Therasia
LIMBURGISH: Trees
NORWEGIAN: Teresa, Terese, Theresa, Therese
POLISH: Teresa
PORTUGUESE (BRAZILIAN): Tereza, Terezinha
PORTUGUESE: Teresa, Teresinha
ROMANIAN: Tereza
RUSSIAN: Terenti, Terentiy
SLOVAK: Terézia
SLOVENE: Terezija
SPANISH: Tere, Teresa, Teresita
SWEDISH: Teresa, Terese, Teresia, Tessan, Theresa, Therese, Theresia