Tamare
A feminine name from Japanese meaning "ball of yarn" or "gem".
Name Census estimates that about 21 living Americans carry the first name Tamare. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 54.5% of registrations being male. The average person named Tamare today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tamare births was 2010 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tamare. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Tamare. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
21
~ 1 in 16,321,635 Americans
Peak year
2010
6 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2011 SSA rank
#12,094
Tracked since 1985
Gender
Gender distribution for Tamare
Tamare is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 22 total registrations, 12 (54.5%) were male and 10 (45.5%) were female.
Tamare as a male name
- Ranked #12,094 in 2011
- 6 male births in 2011
- Peak: 2010 (6 births)
Tamare as a female name
- Ranked #15,631 in 1996
- 5 female births in 1996
- Peak: 1985 (5 births)
Popularity
Tamare: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tamare from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 12 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tamare by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Tamare during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tamare
The name Tamare has its origins in the ancient Mesopotamian region, specifically in the Akkadian language spoken in the area of modern-day Iraq and Syria around the 3rd millennium BC. It is derived from the Akkadian word "tamaru," which means "to see" or "to observe."
This ancient Semitic name likely held spiritual or religious significance, as many names from that era were chosen to invoke blessings or to honor deities. In Mesopotamian culture, names were often given to newborns based on the circumstances surrounding their birth or the aspirations of their parents.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tamare can be found in a cuneiform tablet from the Old Babylonian period, dated around 1800 BC. This tablet lists the names of various individuals, including a male named "Tamare-ili," which translates to "Tamare is my god."
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Tamare. One of the earliest recorded was Tamare of Cyzicus, a Greek philosopher who lived in the 5th century BC. He was a follower of the Pythagorean school of thought and is mentioned in the writings of the ancient Greek historian Diogenes Laertius.
Another prominent figure was Tamare the Brave, a Georgian princess and military commander who lived in the 12th century AD. She is celebrated for her role in defending the Kingdom of Georgia against the Seljuk Turks and is depicted in several medieval Georgian texts and chronicles.
In the realm of literature, Tamare was the name of a character in the 19th-century Russian novel "A Hero of Our Time" by Mikhail Lermontov. This fictional Tamare was a beautiful and enigmatic Circassian princess who captured the heart of the novel's protagonist.
Moving to more modern times, Tamare Gverdtsiteli (1928-2022) was a renowned Georgian actress and singer who had a successful career spanning over seven decades. She was widely recognized for her portrayals of strong, passionate women in both film and theater.
Another notable individual was Tamare Chkhenkeli (1913-1994), a Georgian linguist and philologist who made significant contributions to the study of the Kartvelian language family. Her work on the historical development and classification of these languages earned her international recognition.
People
Tamare + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tamare as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Tamare: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tamare?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 21 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tamare going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 16,321,635 US residents.
Is Tamare a common name?
We classify Tamare as "Very Rare". It ranks above 40.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 22 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tamare most popular?
The single biggest year for Tamare was 2010, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tamare is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Tamare in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tamare a male name?
Yes, 54.5% of people registered as Tamare in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Tamare still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tamare in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Tamare can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Tamare?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.