Tamla

♀ Girl

How to Pronounce Tamla

Pronounced TAM-luh /ˈtæm.lə/Medium

Meaning: Tamla has no settled origin. Its arc and sound point two ways: it may echo Tamla, the Motown record label launched in 1959, or blend the fashionable Tamara and Pamela of the era. It is best treated as a coined name of its moment rather than one with an inherited meaning.Low

In 30 seconds: Tamla is a coined nineteen-sixties girl name of uncertain origin, likely echoing the Motown Tamla label or blending Tamara and Pamela, said TAM-luh.

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Origin LowModern, Uncertain

MeaningTamla has no settled origin. Its arc and sound point two ways: it may echo Tamla, the Motown record label launched in 1959, or blend the fashionable Tamara and Pamela of the era. It is best treated as a coined name of its moment rather than one with an inherited meaning.

U.S. rank (1985)#10548 ↗ Rising

1985 U.S. births6 girls (0.00% of U.S. girls)

Peak year1971

Total births (all-time)≈ 358

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Tamla is a name of the nineteen-sixties whose origin is genuinely uncertain. One appealing thread ties it to Tamla, the record label Berry Gordy founded before Motown; another simply hears a blend of the era's Tamara and Pamela. Either way, it is a coined, of-its-time name.

Tamla's record runs from the late nineteen-fifties into the mid-nineteen-eighties, cresting around 1971, and always rare at only a few dozen births in its best year. Read honestly, it is a sound-and-moment name rather than an inherited one.

Did you know? Tamla shares its name with Motown's original Tamla record label, home to early hits, and its rise in the nineteen-sixties may well carry that musical echo.

Overall data confidence 30%

SSA national given-name data — arc 1958-1985, peak 1971Notes on Tamla Records / Tamara-Pamela blend — possible sources, uncertain

Variations

TamalaTamela

Nicknames

TamTammy

Famous Bearers

Famous bearers coming soon.

If you like Tamla…

Tamara— a same-era name it may blend from

Pamela— the other likely blend source

Tamela— a near-identical sister spelling

Tamika— a fellow coined Tam- name

Explore names like Tamla

By themeuncertain modern 1960s

All themes →All meanings →All origins →

Frequently Asked

What does the name Tamla mean?

Tamla's origin is uncertain; it likely echoes the Motown 'Tamla' label or blends Tamara and Pamela.

How do you pronounce Tamla?

It's said TAM-luh /ˈtæm.lə/ — two syllables, stress on the first.

Is Tamla a boy or girl name?

Tamla is used as a girl's name.

How popular is Tamla?

Tamla was always rare, given to only a few dozen girls a year around its early-nineteen-seventies peak.