Temperance
Restraint, moderation, and self-control, especially against indulgence of excess.
Name Census estimates that about 3,566 living Americans carry the first name Temperance. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Temperance today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Temperance births was 2014 (323 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Temperance. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Temperance with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Temperance is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 13 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
3.6K
~ 1 in 96,117 Americans
Peak year
2014
323 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,127
Tracked since 1916
Census
Temperance in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,667 people with the first name Temperance, which placed it at #6,110 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#6,110
National first-name rank
People counted
2.7K
2,667 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
72.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Temperance
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Temperance is White at 72.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.1%) and Two or More Races (8.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Temperance described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Temperance at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.0% · 1,919
- Hispanic or Latino9.1% · 242
- Two or more races8.4% · 225
- Black or African American8.2% · 220
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 34
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 27
Popularity
Temperance: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Temperance from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 2,416 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Temperance by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Temperance during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Temperances live
The SSA's state-level files cover 37 states and territories. Texas, Ohio, Michigan recorded the most babies named Temperance, while Wyoming, Nebraska, Mississippi recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 65 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Temperance
The name Temperance has its origins in the Late Latin word "temperantia," which means moderation, restraint, or sobriety. This word is derived from the Latin verb "temperare," meaning to temper or moderate. The name gained popularity during the Middle Ages as a virtue name, reflecting the Christian ideal of self-control and moderation.
In the early 14th century, the name appeared in the literary work "The Canterbury Tales" by Geoffrey Chaucer, where one of the characters was named Temperance. This suggests that the name was already in use during that time period in England.
The name Temperance also has strong associations with the Temperance Movement, a social movement that advocated for moderation or complete abstinence from alcoholic beverages. The movement gained momentum in the 19th century, particularly in the United States and parts of Europe.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Temperance was Temperance Flowerdew, an English colonist who was born in 1609 and was among the first women to arrive in Virginia Colony. Another notable historical figure with this name was Temperance Wickham Holt (1805-1868), an American educator and women's rights advocate.
In the 18th century, Temperance Lloyd (1738-1776) was a Welsh diarist and writer who kept a detailed journal of her life in Philadelphia during the American Revolutionary War. Her diary provided valuable insights into the daily lives of Quakers during that period.
During the 19th century, Temperance Billique (1814-1889) was a Mohawk writer and activist from Kahnawake, Quebec, Canada. She was known for her advocacy for the rights of Indigenous peoples and her efforts to preserve Mohawk language and culture.
Another notable figure was Temperance Brennan (1825-1868), an American schoolteacher and activist who was involved in the anti-slavery and women's suffrage movements. She co-founded the Women's Loyal National League during the American Civil War to support the Union cause.
The name Temperance has a rich history, reflecting ideals of moderation, self-control, and virtue. While its popularity has waned in recent times, it remains a unique and meaningful name with deep historical roots.
People
Temperance + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Temperance as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Temperance: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Temperance?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,566 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Temperance going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 96,117 US residents.
Is Temperance a common name?
We classify Temperance as "Rare". It ranks above 95.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,610 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Temperance most popular?
The single biggest year for Temperance was 2014, when 323 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Temperance is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Temperance in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,667 people with the name Temperance, or 0.88 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,110 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Temperance in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Temperance?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Temperance appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,663 people counted with this name, 99.5% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Temperance?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Temperance is White at 72.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.1%) and Two or More Races (8.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Temperance most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Temperance in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.0% (1,919 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Temperance in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Temperance a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Temperance in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Temperance still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Temperance in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Temperance can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Temperance?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.