Tamarra
A feminine name of uncertain origin, potentially derived from Arabic meaning "tree" or "date palm."
Name Census estimates that about 1,106 living Americans carry the first name Tamarra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tamarra today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tamarra births was 1980 (44 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tamarra. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Tamarra with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 309,904 Americans
Peak year
1980
44 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
2013 SSA rank
#10,924
Tracked since 1943
Census
Tamarra in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,034 people with the first name Tamarra, which placed it at #12,151 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#12,151
National first-name rank
People counted
1.0K
1,034 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
56.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tamarra
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tamarra is Black at 56.3%. The next largest groups are White (31.5%) and Two or More Races (6.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Tamarra described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Tamarra at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American56.3% · 582
- White31.5% · 326
- Two or more races6.3% · 65
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 49
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 4
Popularity
Tamarra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tamarra from the 1940s through to the 2010s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 325 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tamarra 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 Tamarra during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tamarras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. California, New York, Illinois recorded the most babies named Tamarra, while Texas, Ohio, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 15 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tamarra
The name Tamarra is believed to have originated from the Sanskrit language, which dates back to the 2nd millennium BCE in ancient India. It is thought to be derived from the Sanskrit word "tamara," meaning "lotus flower" or "tree." The lotus flower holds significant symbolism in Indian mythology and religion, representing purity, enlightenment, and spiritual awakening.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tamarra can be found in the ancient Hindu epic, the Mahabharata, which is believed to have been composed between the 8th and 4th centuries BCE. In this epic, Tamarra is mentioned as the name of a beautiful and virtuous princess.
During the medieval period, the name Tamarra gained popularity among various ruling dynasties in India. One notable figure was Tamarra Devi, a Rajput princess who ruled the kingdom of Gwalior in the 15th century CE. She was known for her bravery and military tactics, successfully defending her kingdom against invading forces.
In the 16th century, a renowned Indian poet and scholar, Tamarra Kavi, made significant contributions to the Telugu literature. His works, including the famous poem "Tamarra Ramayanam," a retelling of the Hindu epic Ramayana, are still widely studied and appreciated today.
Another historical figure with the name Tamarra was Tamarra Bundu, a 17th-century African queen who ruled the Kingdom of Bundu (present-day Guinea-Bissau) with wisdom and strength. She is celebrated for her efforts in promoting trade and diplomacy with neighboring kingdoms.
In the 19th century, Tamarra Desai was a prominent Indian social reformer and advocate for women's education. She established several schools and organizations aimed at empowering women and promoting their rights in a patriarchal society.
While the name Tamarra has its roots in ancient India and has been carried by notable figures throughout history, it has also gained popularity in various cultures and regions around the world, with variations in spelling and pronunciation.
People
Tamarra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tamarra 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
Tamarra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tamarra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,106 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tamarra 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 309,904 US residents.
Is Tamarra a common name?
We classify Tamarra as "Rare". It ranks above 90.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,220 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tamarra most popular?
The single biggest year for Tamarra was 1980, when 44 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tamarra is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tamarra in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,034 people with the name Tamarra, or 0.34 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,151 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Tamarra in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Tamarra?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tamarra appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,034 people counted with this name, 99.6% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Tamarra?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tamarra is Black at 56.3%. The next largest groups are White (31.5%) and Two or More Races (6.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Tamarra most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Tamarra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.3% (582 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Tamarra in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tamarra a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tamarra in the SSA data are female. 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 Tamarra still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tamarra 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 Tamarra 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.
How many people are named Tamarra?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.