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 somehow find Tamsin remarkably whimsicle. I’ve never met one, but would love to do so. I agree that Tammy is horribly dated, and Thomasina is too clunky for my tastes, but Tamsin (NOT Tamzin) strikes the perfect balance between pretty and practical.
There are plenty of Tamsins in NZ. I never found the name all that unusual because of my exposure.
It’s a lovely name. Thomasina? Not so much. It looks like Tamsin draped in a dusty doily or something. That and “Doubterina” pops into my head.
I think Tamsin is really cool in both a modern and vintage way. Meaning, it has a charming, classic feel but a thoroughly fresh sound. I agree that Tammy just doesn’t cut it as a nickname any more, but Tee is just fine, and Zinny might work for something a little bit zippy and cool.
can you do the names todd, sophie, louise, tess, jennifer, charlie, and reid?
Oh, I love Tamsin (or more specifically Tamsyn). I’d never use it (my tastes run more to Rose and Cecily), but it’s very pretty, and it would be nice to honour a Thomas(ina).
Return of the Native has some of the best names! I first fell in love with Eustacia, and it didn’t take long for Thomasin to creep into my heart as well, soon followed by Tamsin. I wish I could use them all!
On a slightly related note- How great is the name Diggory? ;D
I LOVE Tamsin! I fell in love with the name Thomasina from the Disney movie and I fell in love with the name Tamsin when I heard it on Emily Blunt’s character in the 2004 film My Summer of Love; I had no idea the two names were related. I tend to like frillier girls names, but I still adore Tamsin.
I think Tammy is still incredibly dated, so nn needed on this one! Most Kayla’s are not Kay, many Emma’s are not Emmy, etc. so Tamsin definitely doesn’t need to be Tammy 🙂
I will just add that I loathe the Tamzin spelling. It’s like Ashlee or Madisynn. Eww.
I agree wholeheartedly on the Tamzin spelling. Too kre8tiv for me.
This name gets a fair amount of play in fantasy/sci fi circles. There’s the book Tamsin by Peter S. Beagle. There’s the author Tamsyn Murray (My So-Called Afterlife and others). There’s another book about a college student in the midwest that’s a retelling of a traditional folk or fairy story that I can’t quite remember the name of.
Tamsin Blight may be the source of the “Cornish” connection.
The Peter S. Beagle novel was my first thought as well…
I adore Tamsin and the spunky, non-frilly charm of the name, but for those who feel it needs a little more feminine adornment, there’s also the variant Tamasin. (As in cookbook author and celebrity sibling Tamasin Day-Lewis.)
I knew a Tamsin in high school, in the U.S., but she went by Tammi. It’s not a name I would pick, but I do like that it’s uncommon and has a long history, yet doesn’t sound too “out there.”
Also, Zoya should be a NOTD. 😉