Fun Facts About the Name Tamara
- More than 131 thousand babies named Tamara: U.S. records list 131,698 babies given the name Tamara from 1880 through 2025. Even 417 boys received the name Tamara - about 1 boy for every 315 girls.
What Does the Name Tamara Mean?
Tamara is a feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "date palm." It comes from the Hebrew word tamar (תָּמָר), which is both the ordinary noun for the date palm and the name of two women in the Hebrew Bible. The longer form Tamara carries a feminine -a ending, a pattern common in Greek, Latin, and the Slavic and Romance languages into which the name passed. The literal sense is the tree itself; the name is not a symbolic or poetic invention but a direct use of that Hebrew noun.
Tamara Name History & Origins
The name begins with the biblical Tamar. In Genesis 38, Tamar is first the wife of Er and then the daughter-in-law of Judah; in 2 Samuel 13, Tamar is a daughter of King David. Since the Hebrew word tamar simply means "date palm," the name also had a plain everyday sense in ancient Israel, where the tree was valued for its fruit and shade.
The longer form Tamara developed as the name moved into Greek, Latin, and the languages of Eastern Europe, where a final -a marks the feminine. It is closely associated with Queen Tamar of Georgia, who reigned from about 1184 to 1213 and is venerated as a saint in the Georgian Orthodox Church. Her name appears as Tamar in Georgian and as Tamara in Russian and other European forms. The Russian name Тамара became well established, and from Russian usage the form spread into Western Europe and then the United States.
A separate thread is the name's appearance in Russian literature, as in Mikhail Lermontov's ballad Tamara (1841). That is a literary use of an already existing name, not its origin.
How Popular is the Name Tamara?
Tamara recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 1970. Tamara entered the top 100 U.S. girl names in 1966.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,816 | 111 | 0.0069% |
| 2024 | #1,757 | 115 | 0.0071% |
| 2023 | #1,848 | 109 | 0.0068% |
| 2022 | #1,739 | 120 | 0.0073% |
| 2021 | #1,908 | 104 | 0.0063% |
| 2020 | #1,839 | 107 | 0.0066% |
| 2019 | #1,698 | 124 | 0.0074% |
| 2018 | #1,797 | 114 | 0.0067% |
| 2017 | #1,561 | 141 | 0.0082% |
| 2016 | #1,490 | 154 | 0.0087% |
| 2015 | #1,314 | 181 | 0.0101% |
| 2014 | #1,381 | 168 | 0.0094% |
| 2013 | #1,272 | 187 | 0.0107% |
| 2012 | #1,208 | 203 | 0.0115% |
| 2011 | #1,137 | 216 | 0.0123% |
| 2010 | #1,081 | 231 | 0.0130% |
| 2009 | #908 | 300 | 0.0163% |
| 2008 | #817 | 351 | 0.0186% |
| 2007 | #700 | 416 | 0.0216% |
| 2006 | #681 | 416 | 0.0219% |
| 2005 | #639 | 438 | 0.0237% |
| 2004 | #568 | 503 | 0.0274% |
| 2003 | #499 | 575 | 0.0315% |
| 2002 | #374 | 797 | 0.0444% |
| 2001 | #447 | 623 | 0.0346% |
| 2000 | #417 | 681 | 0.0375% |
| 1999 | #383 | 750 | 0.0423% |
| 1998 | #335 | 879 | 0.0497% |
| 1997 | #316 | 933 | 0.0536% |
| 1996 | #288 | 1,004 | 0.0573% |
| 1995 | #258 | 1,070 | 0.0608% |
| 1994 | #245 | 1,131 | 0.0633% |
| 1993 | #269 | 1,020 | 0.0564% |
| 1992 | #223 | 1,265 | 0.0686% |
| 1991 | #227 | 1,262 | 0.0673% |
| 1990 | #209 | 1,381 | 0.0727% |
| 1989 | #187 | 1,486 | 0.0806% |
| 1988 | #183 | 1,531 | 0.0860% |
| 1987 | #160 | 1,735 | 0.0998% |
| 1986 | #134 | 2,101 | 0.1225% |
| 1985 | #148 | 1,991 | 0.1157% |
| 1984 | #124 | 2,289 | 0.1359% |
| 1983 | #131 | 2,280 | 0.1365% |
| 1982 | #129 | 2,361 | 0.1394% |
| 1981 | #115 | 2,653 | 0.1590% |
| 1980 | #108 | 2,809 | 0.1692% |
| 1979 | #104 | 2,885 | 0.1797% |
| 1978 | #105 | 2,801 | 0.1828% |
| 1977 | #93 | 3,126 | 0.2039% |
| 1976 | #91 | 3,086 | 0.2106% |
| 1975 | #77 | 3,629 | 0.2489% |
| 1974 | #64 | 4,525 | 0.3083% |
| 1973 | #66 | 4,286 | 0.2939% |
| 1972 | #84 | 3,531 | 0.2321% |
| 1971 | #80 | 4,486 | 0.2696% |
| 1970 | #79 | 4,721 | 0.2701% |
| 1969 | #78 | 4,652 | 0.2758% |
| 1968 | #80 | 4,308 | 0.2626% |
| 1967 | #86 | 4,000 | 0.2423% |
| 1966 | #98 | 3,481 | 0.2057% |
| 1965 | #104 | 3,562 | 0.2018% |
| 1964 | #108 | 3,807 | 0.2009% |
| 1963 | #111 | 3,981 | 0.2065% |
| 1962 | #119 | 3,822 | 0.1943% |
| 1961 | #125 | 3,730 | 0.1848% |
| 1960 | #124 | 3,663 | 0.1812% |
| 1959 | #121 | 3,799 | 0.1877% |
| 1958 | #127 | 3,411 | 0.1696% |
| 1957 | #191 | 1,846 | 0.0903% |
| 1956 | #323 | 728 | 0.0363% |
| 1955 | #329 | 670 | 0.0343% |
| 1954 | #328 | 664 | 0.0342% |
| 1953 | #345 | 583 | 0.0310% |
| 1952 | #359 | 531 | 0.0286% |
| 1951 | #376 | 471 | 0.0262% |
| 1950 | #407 | 387 | 0.0226% |
| 1949 | #419 | 352 | 0.0206% |
| 1948 | #443 | 324 | 0.0191% |
| 1947 | #422 | 373 | 0.0210% |
| 1946 | #441 | 306 | 0.0195% |
| 1945 | #527 | 194 | 0.0148% |
| 1944 | #523 | 193 | 0.0145% |
| 1943 | #582 | 168 | 0.0120% |
| 1942 | #647 | 133 | 0.0098% |
| 1941 | #587 | 143 | 0.0118% |
| 1940 | #516 | 179 | 0.0157% |
| 1939 | #876 | 65 | 0.0059% |
| 1938 | #1,043 | 48 | 0.0044% |
| 1937 | #1,300 | 32 | 0.0030% |
| 1936 | #1,318 | 31 | 0.0030% |
| 1935 | #1,379 | 29 | 0.0028% |
| 1934 | #1,476 | 26 | 0.0025% |
| 1933 | #1,765 | 20 | 0.0020% |
| 1932 | #1,869 | 19 | 0.0018% |
| 1931 | #2,570 | 12 | 0.0011% |
| 1930 | #3,031 | 10 | 0.0009% |
| 1929 | #4,509 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1928 | #3,413 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1927 | #3,836 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1925 | #4,385 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1917 | #4,532 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | #12,285 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1991 | #8,122 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1990 | #5,761 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1989 | #4,242 | 13 | 0.0006% |
| 1988 | #7,153 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1987 | #6,017 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1986 | #4,423 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1985 | #3,058 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 1984 | #4,510 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1983 | #3,394 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1982 | #3,928 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1981 | #3,824 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1980 | #3,407 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1979 | #2,556 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 1978 | #5,684 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1977 | #2,448 | 19 | 0.0012% |
| 1976 | #2,693 | 16 | 0.0010% |
| 1975 | #2,529 | 17 | 0.0011% |
| 1974 | #1,972 | 23 | 0.0015% |
| 1973 | #2,210 | 19 | 0.0012% |
| 1972 | #2,234 | 18 | 0.0011% |
| 1971 | #2,540 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1970 | #2,873 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1969 | #2,534 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1968 | #2,188 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 1967 | #2,751 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1966 | #2,610 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1965 | #1,909 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 1964 | #2,304 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1963 | #3,032 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1962 | #4,560 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1961 | #3,622 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1960 | #3,310 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1959 | #3,021 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1957 | #4,491 | 5 | 0.0002% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
