The baby name Tamsin offers a fresh update to mid-century Tammy, with a crisp, British sensibility.
Thanks to Fran for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
WHAT DOES THE NAME TAMSIN MEAN?
Classic boy’s name Thomas comes from Aramaic. It means twin.
The name belongs to one of the apostles in the New Testament. Thanks to the 12th century martyr Saint Thomas a Becket, the name has long been among the most common choices in England.
That’s before we factor in other figures from Thomas Jefferson to Tom Sawyer to Thomas Edison to Tommy Shelby.
But what’s the feminine form of Thomas?
Names like Tomasa and Tomine occur in some languages. Tommie could be the equivalent of Billie or Stevie.
But the textbook answer? Thomasina.
Which is contracted to … yup, you guessed it! Tamsin.
Or Tamzin or Tamsen or choose-your-preferred-spelling.
But typically, it’s T-A-M-S-I-N.
WHAT ABOUT TAMMY?
From 1966 through 1971, Tammy ranked in the US Top Ten. That puts it solidly it mom and grandma-name territory now.
It’s strongly tied to pop culture. A series of movies and television shows, starting with 1957’s Tammy and the Bachelor gave the name to a particular type of romantic heroine. Actress Debbie Reynolds starred as the title character and recorded the single “Tammy,” which became a hit.
Did Tammy come from Tamsin or Thomasina? Maybe … the movie character was Tambrey. Names like Tamara and Tamala also lagged behind Tammy in the US.
Other Tam- names include the Hebrew Tamar meaning “date palm.” And the Slavic form of Tamar, Tamara, is another option. Both seem a little more sophisticated and potentially less time-stamped than Tammy.
Interestingly, even at peak-Tammy, Tamsin was scarcely heard in the US.
FAMOUS FIGURES NAMED TAMSIN
Of course, Americans have never had a lot of places to hear the name. Most of the uses are British, including:
- In Thomas Hardy’s 1878 Return of the Native, one of the main characters is Thomasin, often called Tamsin.
- In 1964, Disney’s The Three Lives of Thomasina adapted a 1957 novel about a rather special cat and her family.
- British actresses Tamsin Egerton and Tamsin Grieg come to mind, as do Tamzin Outhwaite and Tamzin Merchant.
- Canada television series Lost Girl also gave us a Tamsin.
HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME TAMSIN?
In the UK, the baby name Tamsin had a good run in the twentieth century. It’s particularly favored in Cornwall. But given the success of the boy’s name Thomas, it tracks that feminine forms of the name would be popular, too.
American parents never warmed to the name Tamsin.
In 1955, the name debuted in US popularity data, with five births.
The baby name Tamsin peaked in 2017, with 27 births.
That’s still incredibly rare.
Tamzin is even less familiar, and while Thomasina was once used in reasonable numbers, it’s all-but-forgotten now.
In 2024, just seven girls were named Tamsin in the US.
All of that means the baby name Tamsin is vaguely familiar in a British import way – and almost astonishingly rare.
POLISHED RARITY
Overall, the baby name Tamsin strikes the right note between sweet and sophisticated. There’s a polish to this name. While it reads differently in the UK, in the US it’s a timeless rarity – maybe vaguely familiar, maybe subject to lots of spelling and correcting.
But it could wear very nicely on a daughter, a name in the key of Marlowe or Maren.
What do you think of the baby name Tamsin?
This post was originally published on April 7, 2011. It was revised and re-posted on April 22, 2013 and again on February 24, 2026.
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. 😉