Editor’s note: This post was originally published on April 7, 2011. It was revised and re-posted on April 22, 2013.
Tammy is stuck in the 60s, but this unrelated import could wear well today.
Thanks to Fran for suggesting Tamsin as our Baby Name of the Day.
Tammy typically comes from Tamar and Tamara, names with Hebrew and Sanskrit roots. Tammy and Tamara had their moment in the sun in the 1960s, propelled by a series of films starting with 1957’s Tammy and the Bachelor. The cinematic Tammy was actually short for Tambrey. There was also a short-lived television adaptation, and actresses like Debbie Reynolds and Sandra Dee made their names as the Southern-fried good girl looking for true love.
Even if Tammy hadn’t been a Top Ten pick from 1966 through 1971, the pop culture reference is enough to make her feel dated.
Tamsin shares a first syllable, but has a totally different story. She’s a contracted form of the equally rare Thomasina.
Given all the men named Thomas over the years, it isn’t surprising that there’s a feminine form. Thomas comes from the Aramaic word for twin. Saints and other notables have made him a classic. Girls have answered to names like Tomasa and Tommie; the latter is almost certainly the most popular feminine form in the twentieth century.
In Thomas Hardy’s 1878 Return of the Native, one of the main characters is Thomasin, often called Tamsin. The name picks up a literary vibe thanks to the novel.
When you go looking for women named Tamsin or Thomasina, they’re almost always found in the UK. Or, possibly, they are cats. In 1964, Disney’s The Three Lives of Thomasina adapted a 1957 novel about a rather special cat and her family.
- Tamsin Agnes Margaret Olivier, Laurence Olivier’s third child and older daughter, also an actress, born in 1963.
- Tamzin Merchant, most recently seen on The Tudors as Henry VIII’s fifth wife, Katherine Howard.
- Tamzin Outhwaite played Melanie on EastEnders for more than a decade.
- Tamsin Greig has had a long career in radio, stage, and film, including a small part in 2004’s Shaun of the Dead.
- The recent debut of the latest adaptation of Camelot features Tamsin Egerton as Guinevere. I suspect she might be the best bet to boost Tamsin.
As for whether the potential nickname Tammy is a fatal flaw? That’s hard to say. Tamsin doesn’t require a short form. And in this age of it’s-Isabella-not-Belle, there’s no reason to think that others wouldn’t honor your wishes.
In fact, if you’re trying to honor one of those many, many Tammys born in the 1960s, Tamsin could be quite the find.
I just named my beloved little cat Tamsin Maeve and some of her nicknames are Tamsy, Tansy, Tea, Tess, and Tessie.
Tamsin (and Tamzin and Tamsyn etc) is fairly common here, but mostly with people around my age – I can’t remember the last time I saw a young child with the name.
It sounds as if it’s still quite fresh in the US, and might even seem striking.
Love, love, love Tamsin!!
However.. my daughter’s name is Teagan.. would Tamsin be too close?
It sounds great, but only if you never have a third daughter. Otherwise, it would be Teagan, Tamsin, and … Torrance? Tilden?
Taryn?
I knew a Tamsen in college. It was my first and so far only real-life association with the name. She was arty and interesting so it’s a name that conjures up that sort of person for me. I like its trim, neat, no-frills femininity.
Hehe, you should try living in Cornwall. There are hundreds of Tamsins down here! But although I like it, it feels dated to me because most Tamsins I know are 30+ (I mentally class it as a ‘mum’ name, like Michelle, Lisa, Tracey etc).
As for it being Cornish- I’m still not sure. I’ve done a lot of research on Cornish names and Tamsin has certainly been perennially popular here. I’ve found records of Tamsins as far as the records go back- to the early 1500s at least. It may well be that Tamsin has English origins, but, like Digory, it was adopted by Cornwall in the middle ages and has been in vogue ever since 🙂
I love Tamsin, but it sounds a bit funny with our surname which also begins with T, and it doesn’t really work in French. Too bad.
I know a Tamsyn, and while I’m not generally a fan of Ys used to replace Is, I really like the look of that spelling.
I very much dislike Thomas but I like Tamsin and Thomasin very much.
I like non-a-ending, non-frilly girls names. Tamsin fits in nicely with Branwen, Caitlin, Morgan, and Tamar. I do love Tamar that bit more but I don’t think the pronunciation I’d want – tuh-MAR, is necessarily what I’d get, and Tamsin is simpler that way.
I don’t mind Tammy as a nickname. For Thomasin I’d use Tommy, though. I’m not sure if Tommy works for Tamsin or not.
thanks
im called tamsin and i think it is great
xxx
It is one of my favorites, too!
I’ve always liked this name although it’s also always seemed too far from my experience to use.
I LOVE the name Tamsin. Love love love. It’s feminine, elegant and has plenty of historical background (aka it’s a real name that has seen centuries of consistent, if not popular, use). It also still manages to sound modern and spunky.