Where the Tami surname comes from
Tami comes from a personal name. In old Friuli the name Beltràm, the local form of Bertrando, was common, and in the family it was shortened to the affectionate Tam. From that pet name came the surname: the “son of Tam.” Bertrando has Germanic roots, and the PDF explains what it means.
On both sides of the Alps
Tami is a Friulian surname, but a branch of the same name has lived for centuries in Italian Switzerland. The PDF tells who carried it, and what mark they left on both sides.
Where the Tamis live today
Tami is very rare: a little over 500 people carry it in Italy, almost all in the province of Udine. The town where the Tamis have always been among the largest families is Pradamano, just south of Udine. The families in Lombardy, Piedmont, Liguria and the Veneto came from more recent moves. Around the world there are many other Tamis, but with a surname of a different origin. The PDF has the region-by-region map and the countries around the world they reached.
Variants
The PDF records no widespread variants of Tami. In the oldest records you can still read the short form Tam.
FAQ
What does the surname Tami mean?
It comes from Tam, a short form of the Friulian name Beltràm, that is, Bertrando. The surname means the “son of Tam,” the descendant of a man everyone in the village called that.
Is Tami a Friulian surname?
Yes. Its heartland is the province of Udine, with the town of Pradamano. A branch of the same name has lived for centuries in the Canton of Ticino, in Italian Switzerland.
How many Tamis are there?
In Italy a little over 500 people, almost all in Friuli. This is an estimate. Worldwide there are tens of thousands of “Tamis,” but almost none have anything to do with the Friulian surname.
Are the Friulian Tamis related to the Tamis of the Arab world?
No. This is a case of namesakes: the same string of letters born in faraway places, with no link between them. The most common Tami in the world has a completely different origin.
Are all Tamis related?
Those who carry the surname in Friuli almost always descend from families of the Udine area. The Swiss branch may not be the same family, and sharing a surname is not enough to be related.
Is the Tami surname noble?
No. Born from a personal name and not from a noble house, it is a surname of ordinary people, from the village farmer to the architect.
Is there a Tami family coat of arms?
There is no known coat of arms tied to the surname Tami. A surname alone never had arms of its own: single families did, each with its own.
Where do I look for my Tami ancestors?
Start from the towns around Udine, and look for the old form Tam as well. In Friuli Italian civil registration runs from 1871; before that, look in the parish registers.
