Tamara (given name)

{{Short description|Feminine given name}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}

{{Infobox given name

| name = Tamara

| pronunciation = {{IPAc-en|t|ə|ˈ|m|ɑːr|ə|,_|t|ə|ˈ|m|ɛər|ə|,_|ˈ|t|æ|m|ər|ə}}{{cite EPD|18}}

| gender = Feminine

| language = Various

| meaning =

| region =

| origin = Derived in Russian from the biblical name Tamar ({{langx|he|תָּמָר}}) and spread to various other languages

| alternative spelling = Tammara

| variant forms = Tamra, Tamera, Thamara

| shortform =English: Tammie, Tammy
Russian: Mara, Tama

| petname = Toma (Russian)

| footnotes ={{cite book|last1=Macleod|first1=Iseabail|last2=Freedman|first2=Terry|title=The Wordsworth Dictionary of First Names

|year=1995|page=214|publisher=Wordsworth Editions|url={{Google books|id=aE8OODf3LhsC|page=PA214|plainurl=yes}}|isbn=978-1-85326-366-8}}

}}

Tamara is a variant of the Hebrew feminine given name Tamar, a biblical name.{{efn|There are three biblical women named Tamar: One is Tamar of the book of Genesis—daughter-in-law of Judah. Another is Tamar, daughter of David; she was raped by her half-brother Amnon, who was then killed by Absalom, her full brother. Absalom named his daughter also Tamar, described as a woman of great beauty.}} The variant originated in the Russian language and spread into other languages through Russian.{{cite web |title=Tàmara |url=https://hjp.znanje.hr/index.php?show=search_by_id&id=d1ZhUBA%3D&keyword=Tamara |website=Hrvatski jezični portal |publisher={{ill|Znanje|hr|Znanje (tvrtka)}} |access-date=31 October 2024 |language=hr |type=Dictionary |quote={{translation|i=yes|f. personal name of biblical origin (the name spreads through Russian)}}}}{{cite book |last1=Hanks |first1=Patrick |last2=Hardcastle |first2=Kate |last3=Hodges |first3=Flavia |title=A Dictionary of First Names |entry=Tamara |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780198610601.001.0001/acref-9780198610601-e-3019 |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=2006 |url-access=subscription |isbn=978-0-19-861060-1| type=Book via online reference platform |quote=Tamara ♀. Russian: probably derived from the Hebrew name Tamar, from a vocabulary word meaning ‘date palm’, with the addition of the feminine suffix -a. ...}} In Russia, where Tamara is associated with Tamar of Georgia,{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/dictionaryoffirs0000unse_p6z7 |title=Dictionary of first names |date=1995 |location=London |publisher=Claremont Books |isbn=978-1-85471-707-8}}{{Cite web |title=Significado do nome Tamara |url=https://revistacrescer.globo.com/guia-de-nomes/tamara/ |access-date=29 April 2024 |website=Crescer |language=pt-br}}{{efn|recognised by the Orthodox church as Saint Tamara the Right Believing{{cite web |title=St. Tamara the Right Believing |url=https://www.stgeorgeofboston.org/news/saints/archive/saints-2012/772 |website=St. George Orthodox Church of Boston |access-date=31 October 2024 |language=en}}{{cite web |title=St. Tamara, Queen of Georgia |url=http://ww1.antiochian.org/node/18296 |publisher=Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese |access-date=31 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200217194906/http://ww1.antiochian.org/node/18296 |archive-date=17 February 2020 |date= |url-status=unfit}}}} the name remains popular and frequently appears in Russian literature. It is also common in Central, Eastern, and Southeast European countries.Slovakia; Transylvania, Romania; Serbia: {{multiref|{{cite web |title=Top baby names in Slovakia for 2022 announced |url=https://spectator.sme.sk/c/23083306/top-baby-names-in-slovakia-for-2022-announced.html |website=The Slovak Spectator |access-date=1 November 2024 |language=en |date=30 November 2022}}|{{cite web |last=Kovács |first=Zsolt |title=Sepsiszentgyörgyön az Anna és a Krisztián nevek voltak a legnépszerűbbek |trans-title=Anna and Krisztián Were the Most Popular Names in Sepsiszentgyörgy |url=https://maszol.ro/belfold/Sepsiszentgyorgyon-az-Anna-es-a-Krisztian-nevek-voltak-a-legnepszerubbek |website=Maszol |access-date=1 November 2024 |language=hu |date=8 January 2024}}|{{cite report |title=Попис становништва, домаћинстава и станова 2022. године. Најчешћа имена и презимена: подаци по општинама и градовима |trans-title=2022 Population, Household, and Housing Census: Most Common Names and Surnames by Municipality and City |date=2024 |publisher=Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia |url=https://publikacije.stat.gov.rs/G2024/Pdf/G20244001.pdf |type=statistical review|language=sr|isbn=978-86-6161-253-4|id={{COBISS.SR|139366921}}}}}}

The name was formed through adding the Russian feminine suffix -a to Tamar ({{langx|he|תָּמָר}}), which originated from the same generic noun for "date" (the fruit), "date palm" or just "palm tree". The derived Russian diminutive name is Toma, and its other shortened forms include Tama, Mara, Tata, and Tusya.{{cite book|last=Benson|first=Morton|title=Dictionary of Russian Personal Names|year=1967|page=163, 167|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|url={{Google books|id=AfIhzwEACAAJ|plainurl=yes}}|isbn=978-0-8122-7452-3}}{{cite book |last=Superanskaya |first=Aleksandra Vasilyevna |script-title=ru:Современный словарь личных имён: Сравнение. Происхождение. Написание |trans-title=Modern Dictionary of Personal Names: Comparison. Origin. Spelling |entry=Тамара |date=2005 |publisher=Ajris-press |location=Moscow |isbn=5-8112-1399-9 |page=345 |url=https://archive.org/details/2005-384/page/345/mode/2up |lang=Russian}}

It first appeared in the English-speaking world in the 1930s and reached its peak in the 1970s. In the 1980s, it gained particular popularity among Black Americans.{{Cite book |last=Dunkling |first=Leslie |url=http://archive.org/details/factsonfiledicti0000dunk |title=The Facts on file dictionary of first names |date=1984 |location=New York, N.Y. |publisher=Facts on File Publications |isbn=978-0-87196-274-4}} In the United States, the name was quite common from the late 1950s to mid-1990; more than 1,000 girls were named Tamara annually through 1996, with the highest numbers occurring in the 1970s.{{Cite web |title=Girl Name Tamara - Trends, Comments and Popularity of Tamara |url=http://www.babynameshub.com/girl-names/Tamara.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828102649/http://w/girl-names/Tamara.html|archive-date=28 August 2018|website=www.babynameshub.com|type=Online database}} As of 2023, Tamara is relatively uncommon in the United States; in 2010, it dropped off the Top 1,000 Social Security Administration baby names list, with fewer than 250 instances recorded that year.{{Cite web |title=Popular Baby Names |url=https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/index.html |access-date=29 April 2024 |website=www.ssa.gov |language=en}} Since the 1930s, Tamara has ranked among the top 320 most popular names in Australia, with peak popularity from the 1970s through the 1990s.{{Cite web |last=Nicholas |first=Josh |title=Close call: most popular Australian baby names of the past century revealed |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/ng-interactive/2023/jan/12/close-call-most-popular-australian-baby-names-of-the-past-century-revealed |access-date=29 April 2024 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Popularity for the name Tamara - Behind the Name |url=https://www.behindthename.com/name/tamara/top/australia-nsw |access-date=29 April 2024 |website=www.behindthename.com}}

In the United Kingdom, it was the 137th most popular girl's name in 1997 but had dropped to 779th in 2021 when it was given to 47 babies.{{cite web |last1= |first1= |title=Tamara |url=https://www.ukbabynames.com/girls/tamara |website=www.ukbabynames.com |publisher=UK Baby Names |access-date=31 October 2024 |language=en}} Cornish legends include a character named Tamara, associated with the River Tamar,{{cite web |last1=Martin |first1=Sarah |title=Winning logo design for October’s Tamar Valley River Festival unveiled |url=https://www.tavistock-today.co.uk/news/winning-logo-design-for-octobers-tamar-valley-river-festival-unveiled-723887 |website=Tavistock Times Gazette |access-date=7 November 2024 |date=25 September 2024 |quote=... Tamara the nymph from the local legend that tells the story of the origins of the three rivers the Tamar, Tavy and Taw.}} whose name is of Celtic origin.{{cite book |last=Mills |first=A. D. |title=A Dictionary of British Place Names |entry=Thames |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780199609086.001.0001/acref-9780199609086-e-12840 |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=2011 |url-access=subscription |isbn=978-0-19-960908-6| type=Book via online reference platform }}{{efn|In the Latin translation of Ptolemy's Geography, The Latin name of the Tamar is Tamarus, whereas one of the settlements on the river is named Tamara.{{cite web |title=Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), TAMARA |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0064%3Aentry%3Dtamara-geo |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu |access-date=7 November 2024}}https://web.archive.org/web/20120120051831/http://www.roman-britain.org/tribes/dumnonii.htmhttps://www.roman-britain.co.uk/places/tamaris/{{pb}}Tamara occurs as a latinised name of the Tamar in John Milton's poem Epitaphium Damonis, the final of the Latin poems in his 1645 Poems collection.{{cite book | last = Todd | first = Henry John |authorlink=Henry Todd (priest) | date = 1809 | title = The Poetical Works of John Milton: With Notes of Various Authors | publisher = Printed for J. Johnson [etc.] by Law and Gilbert | location = London | volume = 7 |page = 385 | url = https://archive.org/details/miltonpoetworks07miltuoft |via = Internet Archive |quote={{lang|la|Et Thamesis meus ante omnes, et fusca metallis Tamara, et extremis me discant Orcades undis}}}}}} According to Mabel Quiller-Couch's telling of the legend, Tamara was a sprite, the child of underground-living gnomes, who escaped to the earth's surface near Morwenstow and was turned into a river by her father when she refused to return underground, while the giants Tawridge and Tavy from Dartmoor, who fell in love with her, became the rivers Taw and Tavy.{{cite book |last1=Quiller-Couch |first1=Mabel | author-link=Mabel Quiller-Couch |title=Cornwall's Wonderland |date=1914 |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26755/pg26755-images.html#id_2HCH0003 |access-date=2 November 2024 |language=en |chapter=The Legend of the Tamar, the Tavy and the Taw|via=Project Gutenberg}} The Tamara Coast to Coast Way is an {{Convert|87|miles|adj=on}} walking route following the river Tamar.{{cite web |title=Tamara Coast to Coast Way |url=https://www.tamarvalley-nl.org.uk/discover-explore/walking/tamara-coast-to-coast-way/ |website=Tamar Valley National Landscape |access-date=31 October 2024 |language=en-gb}}

The name was also popular in Spain during the 1980s, possibly influenced by the daughter of Isabel Preysler and Carlos Falcó, Tamara Falcó.{{Cite web |date=4 August 2023 |title=Significado del nombre Tamara: origen e historia - Nombres de niña |url=https://www.serpadres.es/bebe/44974.html |access-date=29 April 2024 |website=Ser Padres |language=es}}