Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Tasman

Abel Tasman
I was looking at the girl's name Tamsin recently, when I had what I thought was a bit of a brainwave. What about Tasman for a boys name? So I turned to the trusty internet and surprisingly found - well, almost nothing about this as a name. Seems that it's just not on many people's radars. But why not?

While rarely used, Tasman has a fantastic namesake in the Dutch explorer from the 1600's Abel Tasman. The Tasman Sea is named for him; plus two marsupial species (albeit indirectly - the Tasmanian Devil and the Tasmanian Tiger); an island state in Australia (Tasmania); a bridge, highway and peninsula in Australia; and a glacier, lake, river, bay, mountain, district and National Park in New Zealand all bear this name.

It's a masculine sounding name, with the cool, masculine sounding nickname of Taz. It also has the popular -an ending sound. Tasman has English origins, meaning "of great faith". Yet it seems to remain relatively undiscovered, other than making the rare appearance on forums in the form of people who know one or have met one.

So is it the crazy image on the Warner Bros character the Tazzie Devil that is keeping his name out of the consciousness of baby namers? Or is is just that people outside Australia and NZ have hardly heard of it, while people in those countries hear it too much? No matter what it is, I think this is one name that has the makings of a popular name in the future.

29 comments:

  1. I noticed Uncle Tody's has an instant porridge ad currently airing in Australia with a boy named Tasman!

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    1. Yes! My son's name. Wonderful name and boy

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  2. I know a boy that I used to teach named Tasman, I will be using it for my son when he is born also.
    great name!

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    1. Just curious. Can I infer of where you live? My name's Tasman, and you could just have been on of my teachers.

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    2. I'm Tasman were you my teacher?

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    3. My son is Tasman after his Grandpa. Beautiful masculine name for my pride and joy.

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  3. My first thought is that we think of the cartoon character and don't want a child as wild as he was. But then again, Ryder, Wilder, and other such bad boy names are quite the rage, so I could see Tasman jumping on the bandwagon too.

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    1. My son Tasman is wild. But also 18 years old. Love him and his name madly still.

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  4. My name is Tasman and I'm a girl. I have never come across another Tasman (male or female). The conversation following my introduction is always the same:

    'Hi, I'm Tasman.'
    'That's an intresting name. Never heard of it before. It's lovely.'
    'Thanks.'
    'Do your friends call you Tasmania?'
    'No. I don't like it.'
    'I bet you're a wild one, with a name like that.'
    'Not really.'
    'Oh. Well it's a great name.'

    After almost two decades of that exchange with strangers it gets kind of old.
    I love my name, don't get me wrong, it's better being the only Tasman in a room rather than one of six Jessica's, but accept that the kid may introduce themself as Tas or Tasy after a while. if you do't like those nicknames then seriously consider whether or not if the initials of your lastname work well as a nickname. (eg., TJ is good. TB is not good)Also be ready for the different spellings (Tasman, Tasmin, Tasmyn, Tazmin, Tazman, Tazmyn, Tasy, Tassie, Taz, Tazy, Tazzie.)

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    1. I named my boy (now aged 7) Tasman. I love the name for a girl or boy. He gets Taz, Tazzy and The Taz Man. I also know another boy named Tasman who is 5. I think it may be increasing in popularity in Australia but i've heard of more in NZ.

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    2. My Tas is 18 and named after grandpa. A wonderful name

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  5. I named my son tasman and we live in Tasmania. Still havent met another. Love the name

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  6. I have a friend named tasman,,think ts a gud and unique name.l like the fact that it has a great meaning.

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  7. Hie, I am another Tasman from Harare, Zimbabwe

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  8. I named my son Tasman :) he is named after my great grandfather who was named after his great uncle who lived in Tasmania. I love how unique the name.

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  9. My name is Tasman and i'm a girl. Mum actually named me after Abel Tasman. I've never met another Tasman before but my sister has.

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  10. My name's Tasman. I've never been fond of it because people can transform it into Taswoman (I'm a male btw) or mistakenly call me Jasmine, but this article makes me feel a little better.

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  11. My son is Tasman, we named him this because i'm from Australia and my husband is from NZ. It's an awesome name. Everyone who hears it always comments (in a good way).

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  12. my daughter is Tasmin, I changed the spelling as I thought Tasman was a bit masculine. She says everyone thinks her name is Jasmine, we call her Taz or Tazi most of the time. I love her name and most people comment on how nice it is.

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  13. My sons name is Tasman. He's 16 born in 2000 but i first heard this name 30 years ago here in Australia. It's quite an old name. My father was in the merchant navy so Tasman was named that as a tribute to that. It's a great male name.

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  14. My sons name is Tazman, his friends call him Taz. He is 27 years old, 6ft4inches and a handsome blond surfer dude. Married with a son Ezra. Our absolute pride and joy, and "of great faith" is a true reflection of him.

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  15. We named our son Tazman. "Of great faith" is who he is. His friends call him Taz, we often call him Tazzy. Athletic, 6ft4, blond surfer, married and dad to a beautiful little boy. A youth Pastor and our pride and joy.

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  16. My name is Tasman. I live in Zimbabwe, Southern Africa am 33. Its quite delightful to finally discovery people who share my name. Indeed we are "of Great faith"

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  17. My name is Tasman from Zimbabwe, currently 32. Very intriguing to finally get people who share my name

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  18. I'm originally from Sydney, Australia.. My middle name is Tasman and I was named after my Grandfather who's first name was Tasman, although his friends called him Lorrie, which was short for Lorimer, his middle name.

    He was named after his father, also with Tasman as a first name. It used to be common in Australia around the first half of the 20th century but went out of fashion.

    Interestingly, my high school girlfriend, who was born in South Africa, was called Tasmin... So I'd say it's more of a girl's name these days but as I type this, I just found out my wife and I are having a boy and are thinking about Tasman as his first name.

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  19. My 18 year old Tasman is a beautiful boy with a beautiful name! Named after Grandpa Tas who is a professor. Proud of them both.

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  20. My son is a Tasman. We are from New Zealand where the name is also used for a glacier and the sea. If he had been a girl he would have been Tamsin, a family name. He lives and works in Russia. Perhaps he is the only Tasman in Russia? They have difficulty saying it as the hard 's/z' sound is not part of their language, so he is known as 'Tassman' there. He too would be of great faith :)

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