| Tamar | Yael | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | date palm | ibex, mountain goat |
| Origin | hebrew | hebrew |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | tah-MAR | yah-EL |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1915 | 1954 |
| Peak year | 1977 (133) | 2022 (166) |
| In 2025 | 73 | 127 |
| Trend | Steady | Rising |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Tamar | Yael |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 416 | 842 |
| 2010s | 811 | 1,117 |
| 2000s | 917 | 884 |
| 1990s | 901 | 605 |
| 1980s | 1,103 | 522 |
| 1970s | 1,003 | 359 |
| 1960s | 606 | 154 |
| 1950s | 249 | 18 |
| 1940s | 96 | 0 |
| 1930s | 41 | 0 |
| 1920s | 10 | 0 |
| 1910s | 5 | 0 |
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.
From Hebrew ya'el, 'ibex' — a nimble, sure-footed wild mountain goat. The same name as the heroine Jael, who killed Sisera (Judges 4-5). A concrete noun; the 'strength of God' gloss seen on some sites is not the standard derivation.
Yael is more popular than Tamar today: about 127 US babies were given the name Yael in 2025, compared with 73 named Tamar.
Tamar means date palm (hebrew origin), while Yael means ibex, mountain goat (hebrew origin).
In US records, Tamar first appears in 1915 and Yael in 1954, so Tamar has the longer recorded history.