Lamar

Where Lamar comes from

From a placename in Normandy, which was derived from Old French la mare (“the pool”).
— Wiktionary's entry for Lamar
  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1882
    First appearance
    #943 among boys, 5 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1940
    Lamar Alexander born
    American politician
  3. 1979
    Lamar Odom born
    American basketball player
  4. 1980
    Peak, #314
    611 babies named Lamar — more than any year before or since.
  5. 1996
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #599.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name transferred from the surname.
Namesakes
  • Lamar Odom · American basketball player, born 1979
  • Lamar Alexander · American politician, born 1940
  • Lamar S. Smith · American politician, born 1947
  • Lamar Hunt · American sports executive, 1932–2006
  • Lamar Patterson · American basketball player, born 1991

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.