2000
#7,615
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,025
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.49
Rare Last name
Templin
Derived from a German place name, likely referring to someone who lived in or near a temple or church.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,331 Americans carry the last name Templin. That puts it at #8,397 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.26 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 79,140 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Templin 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
4.3K
1 in 79,140
Census rank
#8,397
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,777 bearers of the surname Templin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.26 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8397th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Templin, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Templin
The surname TEMPLIN is of German origin, derived from the old Germanic words "temp" meaning "temple" and "lin" meaning "line" or "lineage." This suggests the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near or was associated with a temple or church. It first appeared in the 13th century in the regions of Saxony and Brandenburg in what is now eastern Germany.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in a 1292 manuscript from the town of Bautzen, which mentions a "Henricus Templin." In the 14th century, the TEMPLIN name is documented in records from the city of Altenburg in Saxony. A variant spelling, "Tempel," is also seen in some medieval records from this area.
The name TEMPLIN is associated with several notable historical figures. Johannes Templin (1366-1428) was a German Catholic priest and theologian who served as rector of the University of Leipzig. Valentin Templin (1505-1569) was a German Protestant reformer and pastor in the town of Niemegk near Berlin.
In the 16th century, the TEMPLIN surname began appearing in records from the Duchy of Pomerania, which is now part of modern-day Germany and Poland. Heinrich Templin (1590-1648) was a Pomeranian pastor and author who wrote a chronicle of the Thirty Years' War. His son, Johann Templin (1629-1693), was also a pastor in Pomerania.
Moving into the 18th century, Carl Friedrich Templin (1735-1807) was a German jurist and writer from Saxony who published works on legal philosophy. More recently, Hans Templin (1909-1962) was a German film actor and director who appeared in over 60 movies during his career.
Throughout its history, the TEMPLIN surname has maintained a strong presence in Germany, particularly in the eastern regions. However, it has also spread to other parts of Europe and beyond through migration and diaspora communities over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Templin
Among Census respondents with the surname Templin, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Templin 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 Templin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.7% · 3,463
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 125
- Two or more races3.2% · 119
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 31
- Black or African American0.7% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Templin
Templin appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#8,013
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,129
+104 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 1.40
Rank movement Down 398 places
2020
#8,397
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,777
-352 bearers (-8.5%)
Per 100,000 1.26
Rank movement Down 384 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,615 | 4,025 | 1.49 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,013 | 4,129 | 1.40 | +104 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 398 places |
| 2020 | #8,397 | 3,777 | 1.26 | -352 bearers (-8.5%) | Down 384 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 Templin 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 | #8,013 | #8,397 | -4.8% |
| Count | 4,129 | 3,777 | -8.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.40 | 1.26 | -9.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Templin bearers went from 4,129 to 3,777 (-8.5% change). The surname moved down 384 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,013 to #8,397.
FAQ
Templin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Templin?
Name Census estimates that about 4,331 living Americans carry the surname Templin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 79,140 residents.
How common is Templin?
Templin ranks #8,397 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.26 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,777 people with the surname Templin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,331), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.26 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.26 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Templin.
Has Templin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Templin went from 4,129 recorded bearers to 3,777. That is a decrease of 352 (-8.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,013 to #8,397.
What does the Census say about the background of Templin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Templin, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Templin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (3,463 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Templin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.7%), Hispanic (3.3%), Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Templin (2000, 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 Templin mean?
Derived from a German place name, likely referring to someone who lived in or near a temple or church. 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 Templin (1.26 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 Templin?
See how many Americans have the surname Templin on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.