Tammy
Masculine · “date palm”
Tammy is given to girls far more often — 332,015 girls against 1,392 boys since 1880. See Tammy as a girl name
Tammy went from a modest name to one of the most-used in the country on the strength of a film and its title song. The picture came out in the late nineteen fifties, the song was everywhere for a year, and the name climbed steadily for the following decade until it reached the top ten, which is about as clean a demonstration of cause and effect as the register offers.
How old is the name Tammy?
Tammy first appears in US birth records in 1938 — 87 years ago. The typical Tammy alive today was born around 1968, making them about 57 years old. About 1,200 people named Tammy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Tammy most popular?
Tammy peaked in 1967, reaching #832 nationally. See the whole 1967 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From A Hebrew word for a date palm, or a feminine of Thomas to Tammy
The story of Tammy
There are two Tamars in the Hebrew Bible and both stories are difficult. One disguises herself to force her father-in-law to honor an obligation he has evaded, and is proved right in the text's own judgment; the other is a king's daughter assaulted by her half-brother, whose father does nothing about it and whose full brother eventually kills the man himself. Neither is a comfortable story and both are told at unusual length, with attention to what the women say and think, which is rare in those books. The name means the date palm, a tree associated with uprightness and fruitfulness, and it is worth knowing that the two women who carry it are the two the narrative treats most seriously.
Meaningscholars disagree
date palm
If the parent is Tamar, the Hebrew word means a date palm and the reading is settled for that name. If the parent is Thomasina, the meaning is twin. Both were available and the short form serves either, so the answer depends on a family history that the certificate does not record.
How the name formed
- A Hebrew word for a date palm, or a feminine of Thomas
- Tammy as a short form in modest use
- A film and a title song in the late nineteen fifties
- A climb to the top ten within a decade
Related forms: Tamar
Pronouncing Tammy
TAM-ee
Two syllables, stress on the first, with a short flat a. The doubled m keeps the vowel short, which a single m would not, and the ending is one of four spellings that are identical in speech.
Nicknames for Tammy
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
- 1938
- Most boys named
- 197087 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #832reached in 1967
- Change vs 1991
- 0.0%5 in 1999, from 5
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.
Tammy in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Tamar in Hebrew — related form
Tammys among us
people named Tammy are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Tammy sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- The sound is universally known and never needs explaining.
- Tam is available as a plainer short form and is a real Scottish name.
- It has a documented and datable origin, which most names of its size do not.
- It is very strongly associated with one American generation.
- Four spellings of the ending are in circulation and yours will be written as another.
- The spelling is on the register for boys as well, in very small numbers.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Tammy to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Tammy? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Tammy
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Tammys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,200 people named Tammy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Tammy in 2025?
- Tammy is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Tammy with classmates?
- Tammy will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More T names
The most-given names starting with T, all years combined.
Thomas#34 · Timothy#203 · Tyler#219 · Terry#1115 · Theodore#4 · Travis#434 · Todd#1609 · Tony#783
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Tammy? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Tammy and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle