Tamar (/ˈteɪmər/; Hebrew: תָּמָר) is a female given name of Hebrew origin, meaning "date" (the fruit), "date palm" or just "palm tree". In the Bible, Tamar refers to two women: one is Tamar the daughter-in-law of Judah, and the other is Tamar the daughter of King David and full sister of Absalom. The latter was raped by her half-brother Amnon, leading Absalom to eventually kill him. Absalom named his daughter Tamar, described as a woman of great beauty.[1] For a period, Tamar held the top spot for girls' names in Israel, but it dropped to second in 2022.[2][3] As of 2024, Tamar was still ranked in the top 10 as the 4th most common given name.[4]
Tamar was also among the Biblical names used by Puritans in the American Colonial Era 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.[5]
This page or section lists people that share the same given name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.
