Tempy
A diminutive of the name Temperance, derived from English meaning "moderation".
Name Census estimates that about 4 living Americans carry the first name Tempy. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tempy today is around 78 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tempy births was 1910 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tempy. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Tempy is about 78 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Tempys were born before 1958.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Tempy. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
4
~ 1 in 85,688,585 Americans
Peak year
1910
5 babies that year
Average age
78
years old
1954 SSA rank
#6,538
Tracked since 1910
Popularity
Tempy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tempy from the 1910s through to the 1950s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 15 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1910s peak, Tempy remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tempy 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 Tempy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tempy
The name Tempy is a diminutive form of the English word "temperate," which means moderate or mild. It has its roots in the Latin word "temperatus," meaning well-proportioned or regulated. The name likely originated in the 16th or 17th century as a nickname for someone with a calm and balanced temperament.
Tempy is a relatively uncommon name, and its usage has been primarily confined to English-speaking regions, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. The earliest recorded instance of the name dates back to the late 17th century, when a woman named Tempy Wigglesworth was born in Massachusetts in 1688.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Tempy was Tempy Wickham (1758-1834), an English actress and comedian who performed in London theatres during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. She was known for her comedic talents and her ability to portray eccentric characters on stage.
Another notable bearer of the name was Tempy Osborn (1799-1892), an American abolitionist and women's rights advocate from Ohio. She was actively involved in the Underground Railroad, helping enslaved individuals escape to freedom, and she also campaigned for women's suffrage.
In the literary world, Tempy Marble was a character in Sarah Orne Jewett's novel "The Country of the Pointed Firs," published in 1896. Tempy Marble was a strong and resilient woman who lived alone on an island off the coast of Maine, and her character represented the independent spirit of New England women.
A more recent example is Tempy Samways (1921-2010), a British actress and singer who appeared in various television shows and films throughout the mid-20th century. She was known for her roles in the BBC television series "The Forsyte Saga" and the film adaptation of "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie."
While the name Tempy has never been particularly common, its unique and charming quality has ensured its continued use over the centuries, albeit in a limited capacity. The name carries connotations of moderation, balance, and a calm demeanor, reflecting its origins as a diminutive form of the word "temperate."
People
Tempy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tempy 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
Tempy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tempy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tempy 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 85,688,585 US residents.
Is Tempy a common name?
We classify Tempy as "Very Rare". It ranks above 6.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 30 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tempy most popular?
The single biggest year for Tempy was 1910, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tempy is about 78 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Tempy in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tempy a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tempy 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 Tempy still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tempy 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 Tempy 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Tempy?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Tempy at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.