Tamra
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "reddish-brown" or "copper-colored".
Name Census estimates that about 11,669 living Americans carry the first name Tamra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tamra today is around 53 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tamra births was 1959 (824 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tamra. 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 Tamra with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
12K
~ 1 in 29,373 Americans
Peak year
1959
824 babies that year
Average age
53
years old
1968 SSA rank
#4,676
Tracked since 1937
Census
Tamra in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 12,722 people with the first name Tamra, which placed it at #2,110 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
#2,110
National first-name rank
People counted
13K
12,722 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
4.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
84.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tamra
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tamra is White at 84.8%. The next largest groups are Black (7.3%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Tamra 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 Tamra at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.8% · 10,791
- Black or African American7.3% · 927
- Two or more races3.8% · 484
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 315
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 135
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 70
Gender
Gender distribution for Tamra
Out of the 13,715 babies given the name Tamra since 1880, 100.0% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Tamra as a male name
- Ranked #4,676 in 1968
- 5 male births in 1968
- Peak: 1968 (5 births)
Tamra as a female name
- Ranked #17,699 in 2019
- 5 female births in 2019
- Peak: 1959 (824 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tamra appears almost entirely female. Of the 12,719 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Tamra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tamra from the 1930s through to the 2010s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 4,744 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
Tamra 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 Tamra during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tamras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 46 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Tamra, while Nevada, District of Columbia, Connecticut recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 227 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tamra
The name Tamra is thought to have originated from the Sanskrit word "tamra," which means "copper" or "reddish-brown." This suggests that the name may have its roots in ancient India, where Sanskrit was the classical language.
The earliest recorded use of the name Tamra can be traced back to Hindu religious texts and scriptures, particularly the Vedas and Puranas, where it was sometimes used as a name for goddesses or female characters associated with the earth or nature. In these texts, the name may have been symbolic of the reddish-brown hues found in the earth or natural landscapes.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Tamra was Tamra Devi, a Hindu goddess mentioned in the Puranas. She was revered as a guardian deity and was believed to protect against diseases and calamities.
In the 6th century BCE, there was a renowned Sanskrit scholar and grammarian named Tamra Vatsyayana, who is credited with writing the famous treatise "Kama Sutra." While Kama Sutra is often associated with the study of human sexuality, it also delved into various aspects of human behavior and relationships.
During the medieval period, Tamra Saheb was a prominent female ruler and warrior from the Ghurid dynasty in present-day Afghanistan. She is known for her bravery and leadership skills in defending her kingdom against invaders in the 12th century.
In more recent times, one of the most notable individuals with the name Tamra was Tamra Gilbertson, an American artist and ceramic sculptor born in 1945. Her works have been displayed in numerous galleries and museums across the United States.
Another notable individual was Tamra Overstreet, an American singer and songwriter born in 1985, who has released several albums and singles in the country and pop genres.
While the name Tamra has its origins in ancient India, it has been used across various cultures and regions over time, sometimes with slight variations in spelling or pronunciation.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Tamra
People
Tamra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tamra 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
Tamra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tamra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11,669 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tamra 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 29,373 US residents.
Is Tamra a common name?
We classify Tamra 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, 13,715 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tamra most popular?
The single biggest year for Tamra was 1959, when 824 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tamra is about 53 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tamra in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 12,722 people with the name Tamra, or 4.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,110 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 Tamra 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 Tamra?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tamra appears almost entirely female. Of the 12,719 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Tamra?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tamra is White at 84.8%. The next largest groups are Black (7.3%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Tamra most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Tamra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.8% (10,791 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 Tamra in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tamra a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tamra 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 Tamra still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tamra 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 Tamra 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 have the name Tamra?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Tamra, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.