2010
#159,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Tamar
A surname derived from the Hebrew name of a place, palm tree, or date palm.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 110 Americans carry the last name Tamar. That puts it at #156,540 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,115,949 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tamar surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
110
1 in 3,115,949
Census rank
#156,540
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
96
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 96 bearers of the surname Tamar in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156540th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tamar, the largest self-reported group is White at 53.1%. The next largest groups are Black (34.4%) and Hispanic (9.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tamar
The surname Tamar has its origins in the Middle East, specifically in the region of ancient Mesopotamia, which is now modern-day Iraq. It is derived from the Hebrew word "tamar," which means "date palm tree," reflecting the significance of this plant in the region's culture and agriculture.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Tamar can be traced back to the 9th century CE in Jewish communities residing in the Middle East. It was likely adopted as a surname by families who lived near date palm groves or were involved in the cultivation or trade of dates.
During the medieval period, the surname Tamar appeared in various records and manuscripts throughout the Middle East and North Africa. One notable example is the Cairo Geniza, a collection of Jewish manuscripts discovered in the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Old Cairo, Egypt, which contains references to individuals bearing the surname Tamar.
As Jewish communities dispersed throughout the Mediterranean region and Europe, the surname Tamar traveled with them. In the 13th century, there are records of individuals with the surname Tamar residing in Spain, particularly in the city of Toledo, which had a significant Jewish population at the time.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Tamar was Rabbi Jacob ben Moses Tamar, a prominent Hebrew scholar who lived in Seville, Spain, in the late 13th century. Another notable figure was Rabbi Isaac Tamar, a 15th-century Jewish scholar from Algiers, who authored several works on Jewish law and philosophy.
In the 16th century, the surname Tamar can be found in records from the Ottoman Empire, particularly in the regions of modern-day Turkey, Syria, and Israel. One notable individual from this period was Suleiman Tamar, a wealthy Jewish merchant from Aleppo, Syria, who lived in the late 16th century.
As Jewish communities migrated to other parts of the world, the surname Tamar spread further. In the 17th century, there are records of individuals with the surname Tamar in Amsterdam, which had a thriving Jewish community at the time. One notable figure was Rabbi Jacob Tamar, a 17th-century Dutch rabbi and author.
Over the centuries, the surname Tamar has also been associated with various place names, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa. For example, there is a town called Tamar in southwestern Iran, and a village called Tamar in Morocco, both of which may have contributed to the adoption of the surname in those regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tamar
Among Census respondents with the surname Tamar, the largest self-reported group is White at 53.1%. The next largest groups are Black (34.4%) and Hispanic (9.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Tamar bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Tamar surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White53.1% · 51
- Black or African American34.4% · 33
- Hispanic or Latino9.4% · 9
- Two or more races3.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tamar
Tamar appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#156,540
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 96
-5 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 3,172 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #159,712 | 101 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #156,540 | 96 | 0.03 | -5 bearers (-5.0%) | Up 3,172 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Tamar surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #159,712 | #156,540 | 2.0% |
| Count | 101 | 96 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 7.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tamar bearers went from 101 to 96 (-5.0% change). The surname moved up 3,172 positions in the national ranking, going from #159,712 to #156,540.
FAQ
Tamar surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tamar?
Name Census estimates that about 110 living Americans carry the surname Tamar. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,115,949 residents.
How common is Tamar?
Tamar ranks #156,540 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 96 people with the surname Tamar. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (110), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Tamar.
Has Tamar become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tamar went from 101 recorded bearers to 96. That is a decrease of 5 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #159,712 to #156,540.
What does the Census say about the background of Tamar?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tamar, the largest self-reported group is White at 53.1%. The next largest groups are Black (34.4%) and Hispanic (9.4%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Tamar in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.1% (51 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tamar appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (53.1%), Black (34.4%), Hispanic (9.4%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Tamar (2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Tamar mean?
A surname derived from the Hebrew name of a place, palm tree, or date palm. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Tamar (0.03 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Tamar?
See how many people have the surname Tamar on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.