Temple
A surname for someone who lived by a temple or a property linked to the Knights Templar.
The #1,590 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 13,692 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Temple comes from the word for a temple, ultimately from Latin templum, passed into Old French and Middle English. In surname use, it usually referred to someone who lived near a religious house or, especially in England, near land or a settlement associated with the Knights Templar. Related forms such as At-Temple and Templeman point to this place-based origin.
History
English records show the name early, including medieval tax and property contexts. Many English examples are tied to places such as Temple Bruer, Temple Newsam, and Temple Sowerby, all names connected with Templar holdings or former religious sites. The surname also spread as a habitational name from places called Temple or from residence at such a site.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Several English place-names beginning with Temple preserve the memory of former Knights Templar estates.
From the historical record
“Yorks Poll-Tax, A.!). 1379. TEMPLE (A.-Lat. and A.-Fr.-Lat.) Dweller in or by a Religious House, esp. a Precep- tory of the Knights Templars [O.E. temp{e)l ; Lat. templ-um, whence also Fr. temple] For example, at Temple Bruer, Lines, " are the ruins of a Knights Templars' preceptory, founded before 1185"; Temple…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)