Tamar

Origin and meaning of Tamar

Tamar is the Hebrew word for date palm, תָּמָר. It is a biblical name and also a Georgian one, where a queen named Tamar ruled at the kingdom's peak.

• Hebrewתָּמָר

  tamar, “date palm” — the ordinary word for the tree.

Like Sora in Japanese, Tamar is a name that is an everyday word with no derivation: the date palm, the tree that bears dates. In the ancient Semitic world it signalled water nearby and a place worth settling, which gives the name a weight that “palm tree” does not carry in English.

The Old Testament holds two Tamars, and both stories are hard. One is Judah's daughter-in-law, who later becomes his wife. The other is a daughter of King David: she is raped by her half-brother Amnon, and her brother Absalom kills Amnon for it. The name survived both stories without taking their stain.

The name's second world is Georgia, and there it is luminous. Queen Tamar ruled in the 12th century, at the height of the Georgian kingdom. She is why the name sits among the ten most given in the country today.

In Israel it ranked 4th in 2024. The lengthened form Tamara travelled much further — English, Russian, Spanish and others — and many who use Tamara do not know the root is the tree.

Which surnames go well with Tamar?

We calculate how Tamar sounds next to the 6 most common surnames in the English-speaking world. The score runs from 0 to 100 and weighs length contrast, the cadence of the pair and cacophony at the join — a row only gets a comment when there is something specific to point out.

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Numerology of the name Tamar

Every letter in Tamar carries a value. Added up, they reveal three numbers describing talents, motivations and the impression the name makes.

Numerology is a symbolic, cultural reading: fun and inspiration, not science.

Sweet nicknames for Tamar

Affectionate ways to call Tamar every day.