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.
Does anyone use Zoya nail polish? It’s a brand with nail polish named after women’s names. Anyway, I’m obsessed with the brand and they just released a tomato-red shade called Tamsen. This made me fall in love with the name Tamsin, because to me it now matches the color of the polish. It’s also quirky, underused (in US at least?), and fabulous. I think it’s along the same lines as Pippa. Love it.
It may be that Tamsin is not a Cornish name but a name that developed from the English language feminine forms of Thomas that were used throughout Britain during the Middle Ages.
The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names (UK, 1945) : “Thomasin(e) (f): diminutive of Thomas, found from the middle of the 14th C… Lyford, 1655 [Edward Lyford, “The True Interpretation of Christian Names”, 1655] gives it as Thamasin or Thomasin. As Tamsine or Tamsin it still survives in Cornwall.”
Oxford Dictionary of First Names (UK, 2006) – Tamsin: Contracted form of Latinate Thomasina, a feminine form of Thomas. This was relatively common throughout Britain in the Middle Ages, but confined to Cornwall immediately before its recent revival.”
According to the Penguin Reference Dictionary of First Names (UK, 2004), “Tamsin has enjoyed a considerable vogue in popularity since the 1950s.”
In 2009 only 9 baby girls born in the USA were given the name Tamsin (Thomasina, also 9; Tamzin, not in the SSA ‘beyond’ data), while in England/Wales 80 girls were named Tamsin (Tamzin, 66; Thomasina, 4).
As a fan of the sweet children’s film “The Three Lives of Thomasina”, I’ve always liked the names Thomasina and Tamsin and associated them with Scotland, but I can see now that these names were used throughout Britain. And apparently the names are currently out of fashion in Scotland, where in 2009 no girls were named Thomasina, with only 3 named Tamsin and 10 named Tamzin.
I agree that Tamsin is perfect for someone who wants a non-frilly, almost unisex sounding name for a girl. I immediately thought of mentioning Tamsin to an acquaintance who likes Sawyer for a future daughter (but who’s brother has his eye on that name as well). I like that it ISN”T unisex but that it still provides the lack of frills many parents are seeking these days.
I think Tamsin is spunky and fun, and while its not my style, I can see it appealing to a wide range of modern parents.
Great way to put it Amanda: NOT unisex “but still provides the lack of frills”! I will definitely keep Tamsin in mind for expectant parents considering unisex style names 🙂
I’ve secretly loved Thomasina ever since reading Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia. The heroine is Thomasina Coverly, a young math genius, and she totally won me over to the name. I wish I liked Tamsin more since I think it’s much more usable but for some reason, it just doesn’t appeal. I think it’s because I tend to nickname and Tami is the most obvious choice. As you say, the Tammy names are terribly dated. Still, Tamsin could be an interesting choice for a baby today.
Awesome play! I was charmed by Thomasina as well, but like you said, it doesn’t seem entirely wearable.
Growing up I used to spend summers with my Grandmother Spencer in Surrey and one of my best female friends was a girl named Pippa whose mom was named Tamsin. I always thought her name sounded hippyish.
Pippa had a brother named Freddy that I had a mad crush on so Frederick is a name I adore but my husband says it is too geeky.
I like Tamsin quite well. She’s a great pick for someone who wants something uncommon and non-frilly. I’m not into nicknames so I like her in full.
Yeah, I don’t know. It sounds too close to Thomson. It just doesn’t sound like a girl name; it’s more of a Jordan or Madison or one of those adopted names, IMO.
I’ll pass.
I love Tamsin! But then, despite no family Thomas’, I find Thomasina completly charming. If I could talk Him into it, Thomasina/Tams(in) would be Josie’s sister. As is, we’re rethinking ALL the girls on our list!
Tamsin’s great, snappy, sweet and pretty, all in 6 little letters. Awesome!
Ick. When I first saw it I read it as Tasmin -like Jasmine with a T. Tamsin doesn’t seem like much of an improvement. I’d like it more if it were Tamson (or similar) for a boy. Personally, I like Tamara and Tammy (I know someone my age, mid-twenties, with the name so it doesn’t seem too dated). Tamsin is just to ‘hard’ of a name.
I got horribly sick the first day I studied abroad in London, and the woman that took me to the hospital and bought me some medicine was named Tamsin. That’s the first time I had heard of the name.