| Susannah | Tamar | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Lily | date palm |
| Origin | hebrew | hebrew |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | soo-ZAN-uh | tah-MAR |
| Syllables | 3 | 2 |
| First appeared | 0 | 1915 |
| Peak year | 1975 (152) | 1977 (133) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 73 |
| Trend | Vintage | Steady |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Susannah | Tamar |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 371 | 416 |
| 2010s | 831 | 811 |
| 2000s | 953 | 917 |
| 1990s | 1,242 | 901 |
| 1980s | 1,226 | 1,103 |
| 1970s | 1,422 | 1,003 |
| 1960s | 758 | 606 |
| 1950s | 320 | 249 |
| 1940s | 253 | 96 |
| 1930s | 137 | 41 |
| 1920s | 99 | 10 |
| 1910s | 74 | 5 |
| 1900s | 33 | 0 |
| 1890s | 31 | 0 |
| 1880s | 34 | 0 |
From Hebrew 'shoshannah', from 'shoshan' meaning 'lily' (in modern Hebrew the same word can mean 'rose'). Reaches English via Greek 'Sousanna'. The original biblical sense is 'lily'.
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 Susannah today: about 73 US babies were given the name Tamar in 2025, compared with 0 named Susannah.
Susannah means Lily (hebrew origin), while Tamar means date palm (hebrew origin).
In US records, Susannah first appears in 0 and Tamar in 1915, so Susannah has the longer recorded history.