Find out how popular the last name Tempel is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Tempel.

Tempel, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Tempel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tempel in America

Tempel is the 23899th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tempel surname appeared 1,056 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Tempel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tempel to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Tempel

The surname Tempel is of German origin and dates back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Middle High German word "tempel," which means "temple" or "church." The name likely originated as a descriptive surname for someone who lived near a temple or church, or who worked in or maintained a religious building.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Tempel can be found in various German church records and tax rolls from the late 16th and early 17th centuries. For example, a Johann Tempel was mentioned in the records of the town of Augsburg in 1583, and a Caspar Tempel appeared in the records of Nuremberg in 1612.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the surname Tempel was particularly common in the German states of Bavaria, Saxony, and Brandenburg. During this time, several notable individuals bearing the name emerged, including Wilhelm Ernst Tempel (1821-1889), a German astronomer who discovered several comets and asteroids, and Ernst Wilhelm Tempel (1816-1859), a German architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Berlin.

Another prominent figure with the surname Tempel was Johann Christian Tempel (1735-1804), a German painter and engraver who was known for his religious and historical works. His son, Johann Daniel Tempel (1777-1843), followed in his footsteps and became a respected painter and art teacher.

In the 19th century, the surname Tempel spread beyond Germany as some bearers of the name emigrated to other parts of Europe and the Americas. One notable individual from this period was Gustav Tempel (1819-1901), a German-American astronomer who discovered several comets and asteroids while working in Italy and later in the United States.

As the surname Tempel became more widespread, it also evolved into various spellings and variations, such as Tempell, Tempele, and Tempelmann. These variations were often the result of regional dialects or differences in spelling conventions across different areas of Germany and other parts of Europe.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tempel

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Tempel.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Tempel was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Tempel has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Tempel was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Tempel, please contact us.

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