Is Tess/Tessa short for something?

CHI-06

tct1219

it originally came from theresa, but now it is a name of its own.

MrsAngel2008

Ditto pp...my friend Tess is really Teresa, but she never uses the full name.

DarcyLongfellow

I think for most people it's short for Teresa/Theresa, but some people have it as a stand alone name.

cabana1

It could also be short for Contessa. I, too, have seen it as a stand alone name though.

EmmieB

Theresa/ Therese (the French Theresa)

Contessa

I just googled Tess and got: Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS)

There's Tess of the d'Urbervilles...and then there's this:

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The girl's name Tess (e)-ss is a variant of Teresa (Greek), Tessa (English) and Theresa (Greek), and the meaning of Tess is "late summer".

The baby name Tess sounds like Tessy, Tesa and Tessi. Other similar baby names are Bess and Jess.

Tess is a popular female first name and an uncommon surname

(from thinkbabynames.com)

 

I *always* think it's a nickname unless the girl is British.

 

Chrisy-Wyobride

My Tess is short for Therese...I've heard of it being short for Contessa too.

LMS05

I know multiple people with the middle name Tessa. It's definitely a stand alone name, but I agree it does sound like a nn.

mgmccauley

I know someone named Tessina who goes by Tess as an adult and went by Tessie when she was younger.  I like the name, but definitely think of Tess as a nn.

Poplin2007

My name is Tess, and it's short for Theresa.

aggiewed05

My daughter's name is Tessa, not short for anything, just Tessa.

QT3.14

Contessa but I like it better as a standalone name.