2010
#142,108
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Temm
A surname transferred from a personal name derived from the Middle Low German term "Temm" meaning "tame" or "gentle".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 130 Americans carry the last name Temm. That puts it at #147,221 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,636,572 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Temm surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
130
1 in 2,636,572
Census rank
#147,221
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
113
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 113 bearers of the surname Temm in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147221st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Temm, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Temm
The surname Temm originated in Germany, with the earliest known records dating back to the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "tem," which means "tame" or "gentle," indicating that the name may have been initially used as a descriptive nickname for someone with a mild or gentle demeanor.
Historically, the Temm surname was concentrated in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony, where it appeared in various forms, such as Temme, Temmen, and Temmler. One of the earliest documented instances of the name can be found in the records of the Benedictine monastery in Quedlinburg, where a certain "Conradus Temme" was mentioned in 1187.
During the Middle Ages, the name Temm appeared in several German chronicles and manuscripts. In the Annals of Magdeburg, a "Johannes Temme" was listed as a witness in a land dispute in 1245. Additionally, the Temm surname was recorded in the Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus, a collection of historical documents from the Principality of Anhalt, in the year 1312.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Temm surname was Hans Temme, a merchant from Lübeck who lived from 1420 to 1488. He was a prominent figure in the Hanseatic League, a powerful commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Northern Europe.
Another notable individual with the Temm surname was Johann Wilhelm Temme, a German philosopher and professor of logic and metaphysics at the University of Marburg. He lived from 1638 to 1698 and was known for his contributions to the philosophical discourse of the time.
In the realm of literature, the name Temm is associated with Johann Christian Temme, a German poet and writer who lived from 1768 to 1834. He is best known for his collection of poems titled "Gedichte" (Poems), published in 1806.
During the 19th century, the Temm surname gained recognition through Carl Temme, a German historian and archivist who lived from 1824 to 1899. He made significant contributions to the study of local and regional history, particularly in the area of Lower Saxony.
It is worth noting that throughout its history, the Temm surname has also been associated with various place names and geographic locations in Germany, such as Temme (a village in Lower Saxony), Temmendorf (a municipality in Schleswig-Holstein), and Temmler (a surname derived from Temmler, a village in Thuringia).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Temm
Among Census respondents with the surname Temm, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Temm bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Temm surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.5% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino6.2% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 3
- Two or more races2.7% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Temm
Temm appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#147,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
-4 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,113 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #142,108 | 117 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #147,221 | 113 | 0.04 | -4 bearers (-3.4%) | Down 5,113 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Temm surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #142,108 | #147,221 | -3.6% |
| Count | 117 | 113 | -3.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Temm bearers went from 117 to 113 (-3.4% change). The surname moved down 5,113 positions in the national ranking, going from #142,108 to #147,221.
FAQ
Temm surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Temm?
Name Census estimates that about 130 living Americans carry the surname Temm. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,636,572 residents.
How common is Temm?
Temm ranks #147,221 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 113 people with the surname Temm. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (130), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Temm.
Has Temm become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Temm went from 117 recorded bearers to 113. That is a decrease of 4 (-3.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #142,108 to #147,221.
What does the Census say about the background of Temm?
Among Census respondents with the surname Temm, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Temm in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.5% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Temm appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.5%), Hispanic (6.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Temm (2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Temm mean?
A surname transferred from a personal name derived from the Middle Low German term "Temm" meaning "tame" or "gentle". The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Temm (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Temm?
Want to know how common the surname Temm is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.