Tamar (given name)

Tamar (Hebrew: תָּמָר) is a female given name of Hebrew origin, meaning "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.[1] For a period, Tamar held the top spot for girls' names in Israel, and dropped to second in 2022.[2][3]

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.[4]

  1. ^ Hanks, Patrick (2006). A dictionary of first names. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1.
  2. ^ Zaltzman, Lior (19 September 2023). "The 20 Most Popular Jewish Baby Names in Israel". Kveller. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  3. ^ Staff, Toi (6 October 2016). "Israel's top baby names are Muhammad, Tamar". The Times of Israel.
  4. ^ Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley, Curiosities of Puritan Nomenclature