Tamar
Feminine · “A palm tree”
Tamar is given to both — 6,158 girls and 886 boys since 1880. See Tamar as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Tamar belongs to two women in the Hebrew Bible, and both of their stories are ones the text refuses to tidy up. One of them wins her case by producing physical evidence; the other is given a chapter that has no comfort in it at all.
How old is the name Tamar?
Tamar first appears in US birth records in 1915 — 110 years ago. The typical Tamar alive today was born around 1990, making them about 35 years old. About 5,900 people named Tamar are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Tamar most popular?
Tamar peaked in 1977, reaching #1009 nationally. Today it ranks #2438, 1,429 places below that high. See the whole 1977 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Tamar
Genesis stops its main narrative in the middle to tell the first Tamar's story, and it is a courtroom scene. Twice widowed and left without the support she was owed, she disguises herself, meets her father-in-law on the road, and takes his seal, his cord and his staff as a pledge for payment. When she is later accused and about to be burned, she produces them: whoever owns these is the father. He admits it and says she is more in the right than he is. The second Tamar, generations later, is a king's daughter, and the text narrates what is done to her plainly, records that the king was angry and did nothing, and leaves her without a resolution. Neither story is softened anywhere in the tradition.
Meaning
A palm tree
The Hebrew word names the date palm, and it was used as a woman's name from very early on. The tree carried associations of uprightness and fruitfulness in the poetry of the region, which is presumably why.
Pronouncing Tamar
TAY-mar
Two syllables, stress at the front in American English. Hebrew says tah-MAR, with the weight at the back.
Nicknames for Tamar
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1915
- Most girls named
- 1977133 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1009reached in 1977
- Change vs 2023
- +4.3%73 in 2025, from 70
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Tamar in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Tamar in Hebrew — same name
- Tamari in Georgian — same name
- Tamara in Russian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, New Jersey, Florida.
Tamars among us
people named Tamar are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 22,017 born in 2025 was named Tamar
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Marna test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Tamar's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Marna climbed just as high around 1947, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Marna's path sketches the road Tamar is walking now.
Tamar sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Tamar is headed
Tamar should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Tamar beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Tamar in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is settled, concrete and pleasant.
- It is short, strong and easy for anyone to say.
- It is used across Israel, Georgia and Eastern Europe in closely related forms.
- The American and Hebrew pronunciations put the stress in different places.
- The spelling is recorded for both sexes, though it belongs overwhelmingly to the girls.
- Both biblical bearers appear in difficult stories, which is worth knowing before somebody else explains them.
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What they receive
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Tamar
Feminine · #2438 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Tamars are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 5,900 people named Tamar are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Tamar in 2025?
- Tamar ranks #2438 among US girl names in 2025, with 73 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Tamar?
- About 1 in every 22,017 US girls born in 2025 was named Tamar — 73 in all.
- Will my child share the name Tamar with classmates?
- Tamar will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Tamar
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Amaira#2438 · Rorie#2438 · Ellia#2438 · Saniya#2438 · Zena#2438 · Amaryllis#2438 · Mable#2438 · Geraldine#2438
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Tamar? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Tamar and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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