Temperance
Feminine · “moderation”
Temperance is one of the four cardinal virtues, and the Latin behind it means to mix in the right proportion — not to abstain, but to blend.
How old is the name Temperance?
Temperance first appears in US birth records in 1916 — 109 years ago. The typical Temperance is a kid of about 11 — this name's wave is very recent. About 3,700 people named Temperance are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Temperance most popular?
Temperance peaked in 2012, reaching #834 nationally. Today it ranks #2017, 1,183 places below that high. See the whole 2012 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From temperare to Temperance
The story of Temperance
Temperance is one of the four cardinal virtues in Plato and Aquinas, and the Puritans took it up as a given name in the seventeenth century alongside Patience, Prudence and Charity. The nineteenth-century temperance movement narrowed the word to mean abstinence from alcohol. The name appears in American records in current use.
Meaning
moderation, right proportion
From the Latin temperantia, from temperare, 'to mix properly' or 'to moderate'. The same root gives temper, temperature and tempera paint. The original sense is proportion rather than abstinence; the teetotal meaning is a nineteenth-century narrowing. The etymology is documented.
How the name formed
- temperare
- temperantia
- Temperance
Related forms: Temperantia · Tempérance
Pronouncing Temperance
TEM-pur-uns
Three syllables, stress on the first. Said identically in every English accent.
Nicknames for Temperance
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1916
- Most girls named
- 2014324 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #834reached in 2012
- Change vs 2024
- +2.2%94 in 2025, from 92
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Temperance in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Temperantia in Latin — related form
- Tempérance in French — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, Ohio, Michigan.
Temperances among us
people named Temperance are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 17,099 born in 2025 was named Temperance
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Larry test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Temperance's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Larry climbed just as high around 1940, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Larry's path sketches the road Temperance is walking now.
Temperance sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Temperance is headed
Temperance is easing off slowly — about 19% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Temperance beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Temperance in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That temper, temperature and tempera share a root meaning 'to mix' is a first-rate etymology.
- It records a real Puritan naming tradition that produced Patience and Prudence.
- Three syllables with a front stress, which holds up against a short surname.
- The temperance movement association is strong and specific.
- It is an abstract noun and carries a large claim.
- Three syllables make it long for everyday use.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Temperance to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Temperance? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Temperance
Feminine · #2017 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Temperances are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,700 people named Temperance are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Temperance in 2025?
- Temperance ranks #2017 among US girl names in 2025, with 94 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Temperance?
- About 1 in every 17,099 US girls born in 2025 was named Temperance — 94 in all.
- Will my child share the name Temperance with classmates?
- Temperance will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Temperance
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Naima#2017 · Diamond#2017 · Kylani#2017 · Bryn#2017 · Kamilah#2017 · Goldy#2017 · Alyna#2017 · Melodie#2017
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Temperance? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Temperance and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle