How popular is the baby name Tamar in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Tamar.

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Popularity of the baby name Tamar


Posts that mention the name Tamar

Oddball English names, 17th and 18th centuries

One of the sources I used for yesterday’s post on Ono Titchiner was a book full of 17th and 18th century marriage records from Surrey.

In the introduction, the author listed some of the more notable names to be found in the book:

There are some curious and uncommon Christian names from Biblical and Classical sources; amongst those of females, Achsa, Adeliza, Aphara, Anastasia, Aquila, Avarillar, Bathana, Bedia, Bethia, Cassandra, Caroline-Shepherdess, Celeste, Clementia, Damaris, Dionisia, Dufiner, Dulcibella, Eleanor, Emmaritta, Emlin, Euphemia, Grachauna, Gratitude, Hephzibah, Israel, Jacobinea, Jaminia, Juliana, Kimbra, Melior, Milbrough, Pamelia, Parthenia, Paterniller, Pleasant-Furs, Protesia, Silvestria, Sina, Statira, Tamar, Tempearance, Theodosia, Tryphena, “Virgin” [Price]; and amongst males those of Ananias, Bivel, Calverley, Chrusophilus, Demetrius, Deodatus, Derik, Emmet, Eusebius, Ezekiel, Fretwill, Gershom, Haman, Haseldine [Crab-tree], Jonah, Lazarus, Nazareth, “Offspring” [Brown], Ono, Prew, Purchas, Redhead [Eagle], Rulove, Sills [Gibbons], Theophilus, Truth, Uphill, Ward, Wintz, Zacheus, Zenas, Zeuler.

It’s interesting to note that a few of the above (like Juliana and Jonah) are now commonplace.

And I could imagine a few others (Tamar? Lazarus?) becoming trendy in the near future.

Which of these names do you like best?

Source: Bax, Alfred Ridley. Allegations for Marriage Licences Issued by the Commissary Court of Surrey Between 1673-1770. Norwich: Goose & Son, 1907.

What popularized the baby name Tammy in the late 1950s?

The character Tammy Tyree from the movie "Tammy and the Bachelor" (1957).
Tammy Tyree from “Tammy and the Bachelor“

Last week, two women named Tammy won elections: Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin was elected to the U.S. Senate, and Tammy Duckworth of Illinois was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Do you think this could be enough to revive the baby name Tammy?

The name started popping up in the U.S. baby name data in the 1930s. It was in the top 1,000 by the late 1940s, and was extremely popular by the late 1950s:

  • 1961: 15,527 baby girls named Tammy [rank: 28th]
  • 1960: 14,311 baby girls named Tammy [rank: 31st]
  • 1959: 13,707 baby girls named Tammy [rank: 31st]
  • 1958: 9,981 baby girls named Tammy [rank: 44th]
  • 1957: 4,361 baby girls named Tammy [rank: 107th]
  • 1956: 261 baby girls named Tammy [rank: 583rd]
  • 1955: 192 baby girls named Tammy [rank: 677th]

What caused the surge in popularity?

The romantic comedy Tammy and the Bachelor (1957), which featured a naïve country girl named Tammy Tyree (played by Debbie Reynolds).

Early in the movie, Tammy and her grandfather rescued a man named Peter Brent (played by Leslie Nielsen) from a plane crash. Here’s how Tammy breathlessly explained her name to Peter:

I’m Tammy, my baptized name is Tambrey (it means immortal), my full name is Tammy Tyree only folks call me Tammy.

Even more influential than the character, though, was the movie’s memorable theme song, “Tammy,” which was performed by Reynolds herself:

Reynolds’ version, as well as versions by other performers, reached #1 on Billboard’s Honor Roll Of Hits chart for seven weeks straight from August to October of 1957.

(The Honor Roll was a pre-Hot 100 chart that combined various recordings of each song into single list items, resulting in consolidated rankings.)

The film and the song popularized not just the name Tammy, but also a slew of other Tam-names, including Tambra, Tamela, Tamera, Tami, Tamie, Tammi, Tammie, Tamra, Tamara, and Tambrey — the character’s “baptized name.” :)

The name Tamre, which debuted in 1958, was the top debut name for baby girls that year.

The name Tammy stayed popular through the ’60s, thanks to two more Tammy films (1961 & 1963) and a short-lived TV series (1965-1966). It was one of the top ten baby girl names in the nation in 1964 and from 1966 to 1971. (Tammy Baldwin was born in 1962, and Tammy Duckworth in 1968.)

After that, Tammy began sinking. It dropped out of the top 100 in 1981, out of the top 1,000 in 1992, and continues to fall every year:

  • 2011: 58 baby girls named Tammy
  • 2010: 69 baby girls named Tammy
  • 2009: 96 baby girls named Tammy
  • 2008: 120 baby girls named Tammy

Do you think the national coverage of Tammy Baldwin and Tammy Duckworth in 2012 could reverse this trend? (Even if just for a year?)

P.S. The song “Tammy” was composed by the songwriters who created “Que Sera, Sera,” and it was popular at the same time as “Diana” by Paul Anka.

Sources: Tammy and the Bachelor (1957) – TCM, Tammy (song) – Wikipedia, SSA

Top baby names in Israel: Noam, Noa

Flag of Israel
Flag of Israel

According to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), the most popular baby names in Israel over the last decade were Noam (for boys) and Noa (for girls).

Other popular baby names were Itai, Uri, Yehonatan, Daniel, David, Ariel and Eden (for boys) and Shira, Maya, Tamar, Talia, Noia and Adi (for girls).

Nathan Jeffay of pop culture blog The Shmooze (part of The Jewish Daily Forward) notes that unisex baby names are all the rage in Israel:

“Can you see Rotem?” [my four-year-old] asks during morning drop-off at kindergarten. I look at each of the girls, believing I’ve already met her and risking his wrath because I have forgotten what she looks like, but no, this Rotem — though it’s a traditional girls’ name — is a boy. A couple of days later, a woman chats to me at the kindergarten gate. “I’m Natanel’s mom,” she says, positive that I know Natanel (the Hebrew form of Nathaniel). The name rings a bell, so out of politeness I say I know how much my son enjoys playing with him. Cover blown: Natanel is a she.

Jeffay also says parents are aiming “for a similar sound with boys’ and girls’ names. That is, a two-syllable format with a modern feel that has a vague Biblical sound without sounding traditional.”

Sources: Most Common Names for Babies in Israel: Noam, Noa, Gender-Bending Baby Names Take Off in Israel

Image: Adapted from Flag of Israel (public domain)

Baby name needed: Boy or girl name for Atticus’ sibling

A reader named Jessica has a son named Atticus and is expecting her second baby at the end of February. Here’s what she says:

We don’t know the gender of this baby, but we have already agreed on a boy’s name (which I can’t share–sorry!–because my husband and I have agreed not to tell anyone), but we have yet to agree on a girl’s name. We’ve come up with several ideas (Annaliese, Piper, Penelope, Evelyn), but nothing seems to fit. Generally, we like less common names with a bit of history to them. Definitely nothing trendy or “made up.” Also, no names starting with a “B” since the child’s last name will begin with a “B” and I’m not keen on the combination. We are pretty flexible on middle names, so I’m not worried about that. Hope you can help! Thanks!

Here are some ideas to kick things off:

Anastasia
Camille
Celia
Daphne
Genevieve
Helen
Imogen 		Ione
Linnea
Luna
Millicent
Naomi
Phronie (Sophronia)
Pippa (Philippa) 		Rhea
Romy (Rosemary)
Rosalind
Sabine
Tamar
Venetia
Winifred

Do you like any of these with Atticus? What other girl names would you suggest to Jessica?