where did the name of the river originate from?
Middle English
River Thames
The Thames, from Middle English "Temese", is derived from the Brittonic Celtic name for the river, "Tamesas" (from *"tamēssa"), recorded in Latin as "Tamesis" and yielding modern Welsh "Tafwys" "Thames". 
what is the boat race 1993? It is the 139th Boat Race took place on 27 March 1993. where was it held? Between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames.
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River Thames [SEP] Etymology
The Thames, from Middle English "Temese", is derived from the Brittonic Celtic name for the river, "Tamesas" (from *"tamēssa"), recorded in Latin as "Tamesis" and yielding modern Welsh "Tafwys" "Thames". The name may have meant "dark" and can be compared to other cognates such as Russian темно (Proto-Slavic *"tĭmĭnŭ"), Lithuanian "tamsi" "dark", Latvian "tumsa" "darkness", Sanskrit "tamas" and Welsh "tywyll" "darkness" (Proto-Celtic *"temeslos") and Middle Irish "teimen" "dark grey". The origin is shared by many other river names in Britain, such as the River Tamar at the border of Devon and Cornwall, several rivers named Tame in the Midlands and North Yorkshire, the Tavy on Dartmoor, the Team of the North East, the Teifi and Teme of Wales, the Teviot in the Scottish Borders and a Thames tributary the Thame.