Tarmara
Of Latvian origin, a feminine name possibly combining elements meaning "tree" and "bitter".
Name Census estimates that about 28 living Americans carry the first name Tarmara. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tarmara today is around 49 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tarmara births was 1974 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tarmara. 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 Tarmara. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
28
~ 1 in 12,241,226 Americans
Peak year
1974
11 babies that year
Average age
49
years old
1984 SSA rank
#7,353
Tracked since 1973
Popularity
Tarmara: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tarmara from the 1970s through to the 1980s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 22 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Tarmara remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tarmara 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 Tarmara 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 Tarmara
The name Tarmara has its origins in the ancient Etruscan civilization that flourished in what is now modern-day Italy. It is believed to be derived from the Etruscan word "tarmara," which loosely translates to "one who walks with grace." The Etruscan language was widely spoken throughout the region from around the 8th century BCE until it was eventually supplanted by Latin.
While there are no known direct references to the name Tarmara in surviving Etruscan texts or inscriptions, the name is thought to have been in use among the nobility and upper classes of Etruscan society. Its meaning, associated with elegance and poise, suggests it may have been a desirable name for daughters of prominent families.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Tarmara dates back to the 2nd century CE, when it appears in a series of Roman inscriptions discovered in the ruins of the ancient city of Pompeii. One such inscription, carved into the wall of a villa, reads "Tarmara, daughter of Lucius and Claudia, born in the year of the consul Servius."
Throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance period, the name Tarmara remained relatively obscure, with only a handful of documented cases across Europe. One notable bearer of the name was Tarmara of Arles, a 12th-century noblewoman from the south of France who was known for her patronage of the arts and her influential role in the Provençal cultural Renaissance.
In the 16th century, the name gained some renewed prominence with the birth of Tarmara Bragadino, a Venetian aristocrat and philanthropist who founded several orphanages and hospitals in the city-state. Her legacy as a patron of the less fortunate helped to preserve the name's association with grace and charity.
Another significant figure in the history of the name Tarmara was the 17th-century Italian painter Tarmara Gentileschi, one of the first women to achieve widespread recognition and success as an artist in her own right. Her powerful and emotive works, often depicting strong female subjects, have been celebrated as masterpieces of the Baroque period.
In more recent centuries, the name Tarmara has remained relatively uncommon, though it has been borne by a few notable individuals. These include Tarmara Milanov, a 20th-century Bulgarian operatic soprano who performed leading roles with the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and Tarmara Bhutto, a Pakistani political activist and daughter of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
People
Tarmara + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tarmara 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
Tarmara: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tarmara?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 28 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tarmara 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 12,241,226 US residents.
Is Tarmara a common name?
We classify Tarmara as "Very Rare". It ranks above 45.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 31 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tarmara most popular?
The single biggest year for Tarmara was 1974, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tarmara is about 49 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 Tarmara in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tarmara a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tarmara 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 Tarmara still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tarmara 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 Tarmara 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 are named Tarmara?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.