| Yael | Tamar | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | ibex, mountain goat | date palm |
| Origin | hebrew | hebrew |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | yah-EL | tah-MAR |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1954 | 1915 |
| Peak year | 2022 (166) | 1977 (133) |
| In 2025 | 127 | 73 |
| Trend | Rising | Steady |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Yael | Tamar |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 842 | 416 |
| 2010s | 1,117 | 811 |
| 2000s | 884 | 917 |
| 1990s | 605 | 901 |
| 1980s | 522 | 1,103 |
| 1970s | 359 | 1,003 |
| 1960s | 154 | 606 |
| 1950s | 18 | 249 |
| 1940s | 0 | 96 |
| 1930s | 0 | 41 |
| 1920s | 0 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0 | 5 |
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.
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.
Yael is more popular than Tamar today: about 127 US babies were given the name Yael in 2025, compared with 73 named Tamar.
Yael means ibex, mountain goat (hebrew origin), while Tamar means date palm (hebrew origin).
In US records, Yael first appears in 1954 and Tamar in 1915, so Tamar has the longer recorded history.