Tamye
A feminine name, possibly a variant of Tammy or Tammy-Lee, of unclear origin.
Name Census estimates that about 33 living Americans carry the first name Tamye. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tamye today is around 65 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tamye births was 1962 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tamye. 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 Tamye. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
33
~ 1 in 10,386,495 Americans
Peak year
1962
8 babies that year
Average age
65
years old
1963 SSA rank
#5,834
Tracked since 1957
Popularity
Tamye: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tamye from the 1950s through to the 1960s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 22 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
Tamye 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 Tamye 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 Tamye
The name Tamye is believed to have originated from the Old French language, derived from the word "tamis," which means "to sift" or "to strain." This etymology suggests that the name might have been associated with professions or activities related to sifting or straining materials, such as flour or grains.
In the 12th century, the name Tamye gained popularity in parts of France and later spread to other regions of Europe. It was initially more commonly used as a surname, but over time, it also became adopted as a given name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tamye appears in the Medieval French text "La Chanson de Roland," an epic poem from the late 11th century. In this work, a character named Tamye is mentioned as a soldier in Charlemagne's army.
During the 13th century, a notable figure named Tamye de Montfort was a French knight who fought in the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars in southern France. He was born around 1190 and died in 1244.
In the 15th century, Tamye Leclerq was a renowned French artist and illuminator of manuscripts. He was active in Paris between 1460 and 1490, and his work can be found in several illuminated manuscripts from that period.
Moving forward to the 16th century, Tamye Bonaventure was a French explorer and navigator who accompanied Jacques Cartier on his voyages to Canada in the 1530s. He is credited with contributing to the early exploration and mapping of the St. Lawrence River region.
Another notable figure with the name Tamye was Tamye de Lauzon, a French colonial administrator who served as the governor of New France (present-day Canada) from 1651 to 1657. He was born in 1589 and died in 1666.
While the name Tamye has faded in popularity over the centuries, it remains a unique and intriguing name with a rich historical background rooted in Old French language and culture.
People
Tamye + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tamye 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
Tamye: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tamye?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 33 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tamye 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 10,386,495 US residents.
Is Tamye a common name?
We classify Tamye as "Very Rare". It ranks above 48% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 42 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tamye most popular?
The single biggest year for Tamye was 1962, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tamye is about 65 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 Tamye in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tamye a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tamye 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 Tamye still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tamye 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 Tamye 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 share the name Tamye?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.