Tammey

Meaning & origin

Tammey is a respelled variant of Tammy that first appeared on U.S. birth certificates in 1957, riding the wave of mid-century nickname names. Its peak came in 1963, when it was bestowed on a small but notable number of baby girls. The spelling with '-ey' reflects a broader American trend of personalizing familiar names by altering their endings. Although Tammey has never entered the top 1,000 names, it saw its highest use during the early 1960s, then gradually declined. In recent years it has remained stable but very rare, with fewer than five births per year. Its rarity gives it a distinctly retro feel, tied to the 1960s era of names like Linda, Deborah, and Patricia. No single state accounts for a notable concentration of Tammey births, suggesting scattered, nationwide usage.

Tammey is a variant spelling of Tammy, itself a pet form of Tamara (a Russian form of Tamar, meaning 'date palm' in Hebrew) or Thomasina (the feminine form of Thomas, meaning 'twin' in Aramaic). The spelling with '-ey' emerged in mid-20th-century American usage as part of a trend for creative respellings of familiar nicknames.