Tamar (name)

Tamar (Hebrew: תמר‎) is a female name of Hebrew origin, meaning "date" (the fruit), "date palm" or just "palm tree". There are three characters in the Bible with this name. The pronunciation of Tamar depends on each so-named person's language, culture, and idiolectic preference; typical pronunciations in English are /ˈtɑːmər/ and /ˈteɪmər/. Variants include Tamary and "Tamara".

The name was not often used in traditional Jewish societies, possibly because both Biblical characters bearing the name are depicted as involved in controversial sexual affairs. It was, however, among the Biblical names revived and actively promoted by the Zionist pioneers, and is a common female name in contemporary Israel (often shortened, as in other languages, to "Tammy" (תמי) – which is sometimes treated as name on its own).

Tamar is common among Georgians, where its origin can be traced either to the above-mentioned Biblical Hebrew characters, to the sky goddess Tamar, who had an important role in the Georgians' mythology before their conversion to Christianity or to a convergence of both.

In turn, the popularity of the name (especially in the version "Tamara") among Russians and other Slavic peoples can in part be traced to the centuries-long political and cultural contacts between Russians and Georgians. In particular, Russia was touched by the fame of the medieval queen regnant Tamar of Georgia, reckoned among the greatest of her country's monarchs and who had a Russian husband.

Tamar was also among the Biblical names used by Puritans in the American Colonial Era in the 17th and 18th centuries. Puritan families sometimes used names of Biblical characters seen as sinful as a reminder of man's fallen state.[1]