Tess

Tess is a traditional short form of Theresa or Teresa, also used as a full given name. The older name’s origin is uncertain; a connection with a Greek word for harvest is one proposed explanation. Tess inherits that possible meaning through its longer forms rather than being an English word for harvesting.

Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles gives the name a particularly strong literary association through its central character. Writer Tess Gerritsen and presenter Tess Daly are recognizable real bearers. Tessa adds a final syllable, while Tessie offers another familiar form. Tess itself keeps the Theresa connection in a compact, single-syllable name with a substantial history in literature.