| Shifra | Tamar | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Beautiful | date palm |
| Origin | hebrew | hebrew |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | SHIF-rah | tah-MAR |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 0 | 1915 |
| Peak year | 2025 (68) | 1977 (133) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 73 |
| Trend | Rising | Steady |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Shifra | Tamar |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 291 | 416 |
| 2010s | 425 | 811 |
| 2000s | 361 | 917 |
| 1990s | 248 | 901 |
| 1980s | 207 | 1,103 |
| 1970s | 123 | 1,003 |
| 1960s | 33 | 606 |
| 1950s | 17 | 249 |
| 1940s | 5 | 96 |
| 1930s | 5 | 41 |
| 1920s | 0 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0 | 5 |
From Hebrew Shifrah, from the root sh-p-r meaning 'to be beautiful/fair, to please'. Borne by one of the midwives in Exodus; traditionally glossed 'beautiful'.
From Hebrew tamar, 'date palm.' Borne by several biblical women (Genesis 38; 2 Samuel 13). A concrete noun; the palm's associations of uprightness, grace and fruitfulness are connotation rather than part of the etymology.
Tamar is more popular than Shifra today: about 73 US babies were given the name Tamar in 2025, compared with 0 named Shifra.
Shifra means Beautiful (hebrew origin), while Tamar means date palm (hebrew origin).
In US records, Shifra first appears in 0 and Tamar in 1915, so Shifra has the longer recorded history.