Tammi
A feminine diminutive form of the name Tamara, meaning "palm tree" in Hebrew.
Name Census estimates that about 11,909 living Americans carry the first name Tammi. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tammi today is around 56 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tammi births was 1968 (874 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tammi. 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.
People living today
12K
~ 1 in 28,781 Americans
Peak year
1968
874 babies that year
Average age
56
years old
2013 SSA rank
#16,343
Tracked since 1950
Popularity
Tammi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tammi from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 6,514 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tammi 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 Tammi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tammis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 49 states and territories. California, Pennsylvania, Texas recorded the most babies named Tammi, while Wyoming, Rhode Island, Delaware recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 247 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tammi
The name Tammi is a diminutive form of the Finnish name Tamara, which is derived from the Old Hebrew name Tamar, meaning "date palm tree." The name Tamar is found in the Bible, where it refers to several different women, including the daughter-in-law of Judah and an Israelite woman who married a non-Israelite man.
The name Tammi is believed to have originated in Finland, where it was used as a feminine form of the name Taimi, which means "seedling" or "sprout." The name Tammi first became popular in Finland in the late 19th century, and it was often used as a shortened form of Tamara or as a standalone name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tammi was in the 18th century, when a Finnish woman named Tammi Kaarina Friberg was born in 1743. Another notable early bearer of the name was Tammi Sivonen, a Finnish author and journalist who lived from 1865 to 1944.
Throughout history, several famous women have been named Tammi. One of the most well-known is Tammi Terrell, an American singer who was born in 1945 and tragically died at the age of 24 in 1970. She is best known for her duets with Marvin Gaye, including the hit song "Ain't No Mountain High Enough."
Another notable Tammi was Tammi Duckworth, an American politician and former military officer who was born in 1968. Duckworth served in the Iraq War and lost both of her legs in combat. She went on to become the first Thai-American woman elected to Congress and is currently serving as a United States Senator from Illinois.
Other famous Tammis include Tammi Bray, an Australian model and actress born in 1964; Tammi Chynn, an American pop singer and songwriter born in 1970; and Tammi Reiss, an American actress and model born in 1975.
While the name Tammi may have originated in Finland, it has since spread to other parts of the world and has been embraced by people of various cultural backgrounds. Its connection to the Old Hebrew name Tamar and its association with nature and growth have made it a popular choice for parents seeking a unique and meaningful name for their daughter.
People
Tammi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tammi 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
Tammi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tammi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11,909 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tammi 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 28,781 US residents.
Is Tammi a common name?
We classify Tammi as "Uncommon". It ranks above 97.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 13,884 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tammi most popular?
The single biggest year for Tammi was 1968, when 874 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tammi is about 56 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Tammi a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tammi 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.
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.