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Tamara (given name)

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Tamara
Pronunciation/təˈmɑːrə, təˈmɛərə, ˈtæmərə/[1]
GenderFeminine
Language(s)Various
Origin
Word/nameDerived in Russian from the biblical name Tamar (Hebrew: תָּמָר) and spread to various other languages
Other names
Variant form(s)Tamra, Tamera, Thamara
Short form(s)English: Tammie, Tammy
Russian: Mara, Tama
Pet form(s)Toma (Russian)
[2][3]

Tamara is a variant of the Hebrew feminine given name Tamar, a biblical name. The variant originated within the Russian language and spread into other languages through Russian.[4][5] In Russia, where Tamara is associated with Tamar of Georgia,[6][7] (recognised by the Orthodox church as Saint Tamara the Right Believing[8][9]) the name remains popular and frequently appears in Russian literature.[10][11] It is also common in Central and Eastern European countries.[12]

The name was formed through adding the Russian feminine suffix -a to Tamar (Hebrew: תָּמָר), which originated from the same generic noun for "date" (the fruit), "date palm" or just "palm tree". In the Bible, Tamar refers to two women: one is the daughter-in-law of Judah, Tamar, and the other is the daughter of King David and full sister of Absalom, Tamar. The latter was raped by her half-brother Amnon, leading Absalom to eventually kill him. Absalom named his daughter Tamar, described as a woman of great beauty.[5]

The derived Russian diminutive name is Toma, and its other shortened forms include Mara and Tama.[2]

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.[11] In the United States, the name was quite common from the late 1950s to mid-1990;[13] more than 1,000 girls were named Tamara annually through 1996, with the highest numbers occurring in the 1970s.[14] 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.[13] Since the 1930s, Tamara has ranked among the top 320 most popular names in Australia, with peak popularity from the 1970s through the 1990s.[15][12] In the United Kingdom it has been suggested that the name can also be a Cornish name, after Tamara, the goddess of the River Tamar.[16][17] In 1997 it was the 137th most popular girl's name in the United Kingdom, but this had dropped to 779th in 2021 when it was given to 47 babies.[17] The Tamara Coast to Coast Way is an 87-mile (140 km) walking route following the river Tamar.[18]

The name was also popular in Spain during the 1980s, possibly influenced by the daughter of Isabel Preysler and Carlos Falcó, Tamara Falcó.[10]

Notable people named Tamara

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In the arts

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Politicians

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Sportspeople

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Others

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011). Roach, Peter; Setter, Jane; Esling, John (eds.). Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary (18th ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-15255-6.
  2. ^ a b Benson, Morton (1967). Dictionary of Russian Personal Names. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 163, 167. ISBN 978-0-8122-7452-3.
  3. ^ Macleod, Iseabail; Freedman, Terry (1995). The Wordsworth Dictionary of First Names. Wordsworth Editions. p. 214. ISBN 978-1-85326-366-8.
  4. ^ "Tàmara". Hrvatski jezični portal (Dictionary) (in Croatian). Znanje [hr]. Retrieved 31 October 2024. transl. f. personal name of biblical origin (the name spreads through Russian)
  5. ^ a b Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006). "Tamara". A Dictionary of First Names (Book via online reference platform). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1 – via Oxford Reference and the The Wikipedia Library. Tamara ♀. Russian: probably derived from the Hebrew name Tamar, from a vocabulary word meaning 'date palm', with the addition of the feminine suffix -a. ...
  6. ^ Dictionary of first names. London: Claremont Books. 1995. ISBN 978-1-85471-707-8.
  7. ^ "Significado do nome Tamara". Crescer (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  8. ^ "St. Tamara the Right Believing". St. George Orthodox Church of Boston. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
  9. ^ "St. Tamara, Queen of Georgia". web.archive.org. Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese. Archived from the original on 17 February 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  10. ^ a b "Significado del nombre Tamara: origen e historia - Nombres de niña". Ser Padres (in Spanish). 4 August 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  11. ^ a b Dunkling, Leslie (1984). The Facts on file dictionary of first names. New York, N.Y.: Facts on File Publications. ISBN 978-0-87196-274-4.
  12. ^ a b "Popularity for the name Tamara - Behind the Name". www.behindthename.com. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  13. ^ a b "Popular Baby Names". www.ssa.gov. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  14. ^ "Girl Name Tamara - Trends, Comments and Popularity of Tamara".
  15. ^ Nicholas, Josh. "Close call: most popular Australian baby names of the past century revealed". the Guardian. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  16. ^ McCoy, Edain (8 May 2017). "Celtic Goddesses and Women of Power". Celtic Women's Spirituality: Accessing the Cauldron of Life. Llewellyn Worldwide. ISBN 978-0-7387-4854-2. Tamara. (Cornish) Goddess of the River Tamar ...
  17. ^ a b "Tamara". www.ukbabynames.com. UK Baby Names. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
  18. ^ "Tamara Coast to Coast Way". Tamar Valley National Landscape. Retrieved 31 October 2024.