Tamar ( he, תָּמָר) is a

female Female ( symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Fema ...

name of

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

origin, meaning " date" (the fruit), "

date palm ''Phoenix dactylifera'', commonly known as date or date palm, is a flowering plant species in the palm family, Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across northern Africa, the Middle Eas ...

" or just "

palm tree The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm tr ...

". There are three

characters Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

in the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...

with this name. The pronunciation of Tamar depends on each so-named person's language, culture, and

idiolect Idiolect is an individual's unique use of language, including speech. This unique usage encompasses vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. This differs from a dialect, a common set of linguistic characteristics shared among a group of people ...

ic preference; typical pronunciation in the original Hebrew is ; typical pronunciations in English are and . Variants include Tamary and " Tamara". The name was not often used in traditional

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

ish societies, possibly because both Biblical characters bearing the name are depicted as involved in controversial sexual affairs. It was, however, among the Biblical names revived and actively promoted by the

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

pioneers, and is a common female name in contemporary

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

(often shortened, as in other languages, to " Tammy" (תמי) – which is sometimes treated as name on its own). Tamar is common among Georgians, where its origin can be traced either to the above-mentioned Biblical Hebrew characters, to the sky goddess Tamar, who had an important role in the Georgians' mythology before their conversion to Christianity or to a convergence of both. In turn, the popularity of the name (especially in the version "Tamara") among Russians and other Slavic peoples can in part be traced to the centuries-long political and cultural contacts between Russians and Georgians. In particular, Russia was touched by the fame of the medieval queen regnant

Tamar of Georgia Tamar the Great ( ka, თამარ მეფე, tr, lit. "King Tamar") ( 1160 – 18 January 1213) reigned as the Queen of Georgia from 1184 to 1213, presiding over the apex of the Georgian Golden Age. A member of the Bagrationi dyna ...

, reckoned among the greatest of her country's monarchs and who had a Russian husband. Tamar was also among the Biblical names used by

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

s in the

American Colonial Era The colonial history of the United States covers the history of European colonization of North America from the early 17th century until the incorporation of the Thirteen Colonies into the United States after the Revolutionary War. In the ...

in the 17th and 18th centuries. Puritan families sometimes used names of Biblical characters seen as sinful as a reminder of man's fallen state.Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley
Curiosities of Puritan Nomenclature
/ref>

People with the given name Tamar

Tamar (Genesis) In the Book of Genesis, Tamar (; ) was the daughter-in-law of Judah (twice), as well as the mother of two of his children: the twins Perez and Zerah. Genesis narrative In , Tamar is first described as marrying Judah's eldest son, Er. Becaus ...

, daughter-in-law of Judah in the Bible *

Tamar (daughter of David) Tamar was a princess of Israel, the daughter of King David and sister of Absalom in 2 Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. In the biblical narrative (), she is raped by her half-brother Amnon. Biblical narrative Tamar was the daughter of King David and ...

, daughter of King David and full sister of his son

Absalom Absalom ( he, ''ʾAḇšālōm'', "father of peace") was the third son of David, King of Israel with Maacah, daughter of Talmai, King of Geshur. 2 Samuel 14:25 describes him as the handsomest man in the kingdom. Absalom eventually rebelle ...

in the Bible * Tamar, daughter of David's son

(1160–1213), Georgian queen *

Tamar of Imereti Tamar ( ka, თამარი) (died 1556) was a Georgian princess of the royal Bagrationi dynasty. Tamar was titled as "დედოფალთ დედოფალი თამარ" (''dedopalt dedopali tamar'') "Tamar the Queen of Queens". ...

(died 1556), Georgian princess *

Tamar of Kartli Tamar ( ka, თამარი; 1696 – 12 April 1746) was a Georgian royal princess of the Bagrationi dynasty, a daughter of King Vakhtang VI of Kartli, of the Mukhranian branch, and the second wife of King Teimuraz II, of the Kakhetian branc ...

(1696–1746), Georgian queen *

Tamar of Mukhrani Tamar ( ka, თამარი; died 1683) was a Georgian princess of the House of Mukhrani who was married, successively, to three sovereigns of western Georgia—Levan III Dadiani, Prince of Mingrelia, then King Bagrat V of Imereti, and finally, ...

(died 1683), Georgian princess * Támar (born 1980), American singer * Tamar Abakelia (1905–1953), Georgian artist * Tamar Ariav (born 1949), Israeli professor of education and President of Beit Berl College *

Tamar Amilakhori Tamar Amilakhori ( ka, თამარ ამილახორი) was a 17th-century Georgian noblewoman from the Amilakhori family and a favourite concubine of Safavid king Abbas I of Persia (r. 1588–1629). Tamar was a daughter of Farama ...

(fl. 17th-century), Safavid concubine of Georgian origin * Tamar Beruchashvili (born 1961), Georgian politician *

Tamar Braxton Tamar Estine Braxton (born March 17, 1977) is an American singer and television personality. Braxton began her career in 1990 as a founding member of The Braxtons, an R&B singing group formed with her sisters. The Braxtons released their debut ...

(born 1977), American singer * Tamar Eilam, Israeli-American computer scientist *

Tamar Garb Tamar Garb is Durning Lawrence Professor in the Department of History of Art at University College London. A researcher of French art of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Garb has published numerous catalogue essays and books t ...

(born 1957), British art historian *

Tamar Gendler Tamar Szabó Gendler (born December 20, 1965) is an American philosopher. She is the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Yale as well as the Vincent J. Scully Professor of Philosophy and a Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences ...

(born 1965), American philosopher *

Tamar Gozansky Tamar Gozansky ( he, תמר גוז'נסקי, also spelt Tamar Gozhansky; born 3 October 1940) is an Israeli politician. Biography Tamar Gozansky was born in Petah Tikva during the Mandate period to a Russian Jewish family. She earned an MSc in ...

(born 1940), Israeli politician * Tamar Halperin (born 1976), Israeli musician * Tamar Hermann (born 1957), Israeli political scientist *

Tamar Jacoby Tamar Jacoby (born 1954) is president of Opportunity America, a Washington-based nonprofit working to promote economic mobility – work, skills, careers, ownership and entrepreneurship for poor and working Americans. She was formerly president o ...

(born 1954), American writer *

Tamar Kaprelian Tamar Mardirossian ( hy, Թամար Մարտիրոսեան; born October 28, 1986), known professionally as Tamar Kaprelian, is an Armenian-American singer, songwriter, and philanthropist. Kaprelian began her career in 2008, after winning a cove ...

(born 1986), American singer *

Tamar Katz Tamar Katz ( he, תמר כץ, born September 26, 1989 ) is an Israeli-American former competitive figure skater. She is the 2005, 2007, and 2008 Israeli national champion. Personal life Tamar Katz was born September 26, 1989 in Dallas, Texas. The ...

(born 1988), Israeli figure skater *

Tamar Sanikidze Tamar Sanikidze ( ka, თამარ სანიკიძე) (born 30 August 1978 in Tbilisi) is a Georgian politician, Minister of Education and Science of Georgia since 18 July 2013 until the announcement of her resignation on June 3rd of 2 ...

(born 1978), Georgian politician *

Tamar Simon Hoffs Tamar Simon Hoffs (née Tamar Ruth Simon; October 23, 1934) is an American filmmaker, best known for directing the indie films '' Red Roses and Petrol'' (2003) and ''Pound of Flesh'' (2009), both starring Malcolm McDowell. Life and career Hoffs ...

(born 1934), American film director *

Tamar Slay Tamar Ulysses Slay (born April 2, 1980) is an American basketball former college and professional player. A 6 ft 9 in (2.03 m) guard-forward, he was formerly with the National Basketball Association's New Jersey Nets and Charlotte Bobcats. He ...

(born 1980), American basketball player * Tamar Tatuashvili (born 1991), Georgian football player * Tamar Tavadze (1898–1975), Georgian artist * Tamar Tumanyan (1907–1989), Soviet Armenian architect *

Tamar Zandberg Tamar Zandberg (, born 29 April 1976) is an Israeli politician who served as Minister of Environmental Protection from 2021 to 2022. Zandberg also served as a member of the Knesset for Meretz from 2013 to 2021, and as the party's leader between ...

(born 1976), Israeli politician

Fictional characters

*Hilary Tamar, fictional character in the novels of

Sarah Caudwell Sarah Caudwell was the pseudonym of Sarah Cockburn (/ˈkoʊbərn/ KOH-bərn; 27 May 1939 – 28 January 2000), a British barrister and writer of detective stories. She is best known for a series of four murder stories written between 1980 a ...

*Tamar Cauldwell, the central character in the epic poem '' Tamar'' by Robinson Jeffers *Tamar Kir-Bataar, a character from the Grishaverse book series by

Leigh Bardugo Leigh Bardugo ( he, לי ברדוגו) is an Israeli-American fantasy author. She is best known for her young adult Grishaverse novels, which include the ''Shadow and Bone'' trilogy, the ''Six of Crows'' duology, and the '' King of Scars'' duolo ...

Equivalents in other languages

* ar, تمر ''tamr -'' which is the

plural The plural (sometimes list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated pl., pl, or ), in many languages, is one of the values of the grammatical number, grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than the ...

form and

singular Singular may refer to: * Singular, the grammatical number that denotes a unit quantity, as opposed to the plural and other forms * Singular homology * SINGULAR, an open source Computer Algebra System (CAS) * Singular or sounder, a group of boar ...

form "Tamra" (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

: تَمْرَة ''tamrah'') * hy, Թամար

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tamar (Name) Hebrew-language names Georgian feminine given names

People with the given name Tamar

Fictional characters

Equivalents in other languages

See also

References