Name Awesome

Tam

#13,665 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Multiple documented origins; meaning depends on tradition

Tam has been given to 1,889 babies in the U.S. since 1924. In 2025 it ranked #13,665 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 1982, with 46 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 52% boys, 48% girls all-time.

Babies named Tam, 2025

1 in 663,000

Tam over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
020406018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Tam over time

In 2025, Tam went to 50% girls and 50% boys.

19242025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Tam: meaning, origin, and history

Multiple documented origins; meaning depends on tradition

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Tam means

Tam has more than one naming route in the cited origin entries: distinct naming traditions.

The naming story behind Tam

A separate documented entry treats Tam as a short form of Thomas. That is a personal-name relationship, which differs from translating the letters of the modern spelling into one universal English word. The linked origin entry identifies the context of this relationship.

One of the source’s documented entries for Tam records a meaning of honest, innocent.

Origin, language, and formation

Tam is used in English, Norman, Scots and Yola.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Tamara, Tamsin, Thonmas, Thomas and Tom.

Pronunciation and spelling

In Yola, Tam is pronounced /tam/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 987 boys were recorded with the name Tam between 1924 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 46 in 1982; its best national rank was #1,407 in 1982.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #7,435 in 2020 to #13,665 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #7,966 in 2015 to #13,665 in 2025.

In the United States, 902 girls were recorded with the name Tam between 1944 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 37 in 1959; its best national rank was #1,850 in 1959.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #17,267 in 2020 to #17,011 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #11,742 in 2015 to #17,011 in 2025.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Tam?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 663,000
5 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 342,000
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#13,665
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
459,581 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Tam sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 459,581 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Tam. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Tams were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Tam was born before 1991 — so the typical Tam is around 34 today.

Median birth year
1991
About 34 years old
Biggest decade
1980s
33.7% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
27.8%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
970
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1980s — 33.7% of all recorded uses (333).

Is Tam rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−1,485
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−6,230
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−5,699
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.50×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
10.9%
Peak was 1982 (46)
Years since peak
43
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
24.7% average annual change
Best rank ever
#1,407
1982

Where Tam is used — boys

Across 1910–2025, Tam was most concentrated in California — about 1 in 100,000 boys, against 1 in 122,612 across all states with data. It was least common in Louisiana (1 in —).

01 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in 100,000
  2. 2Texas1 in 100,000
  3. 3Louisiana1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Tam has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Where Tam is used — girls

Across 1910–2025, Tam was most concentrated in California — about 1 in 100,000 girls, against 1 in 297,425 across all states with data. It was least common in Texas (1 in —).

01 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in 100,000
  2. 2Illinois1 in —
  3. 3Ohio1 in —
  4. 4Texas1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Tam has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Tam around the world

Where Tam ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1996–2024
    #3,689
    in 2024
  • France
    1981–2001
    #4,479
    in 2001
  • Canada
    2003–2003
    #1,899
    in 2003
  • South Australia
    1975–2012
    #771
    in 2012

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Tam by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#13,665
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 6,230
Best rank ever
#1,407
1982
Peak year
1982
46 that year
First recorded
1924
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
987
Count in 2025
5

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#17,011
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 256
Best rank ever
#1,850
1959
Peak year
1959
37 that year
First recorded
1944
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
902
Count in 2025
5

Names similar to Tam

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

TamerTamimTamirTamarTammyTameemTamariTamajGautamTamarionTamenTamaraTamonTamiYotamTamasTamelTammieTamarcusTamotsuRustamTamikaTamaTameron

Sibling names for Tam

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Tam

Top names of 1982, Tam's peak yearThe 1980s in fullOther names that peaked in 1982Boys' names starting with T