Temse is a municipality located in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium, and in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Elversele, Steendorp, Temse proper and Tielrode. On January 1, 2006 Temse had a total population of 26,287. The total area is 39.92 km² which gives a population density of 659 inhabitants per km². The name Temse is derived from the Gallo-Roman/Gaul 'Tamisiacum' or 'Tamasiacum'. This is also reflected by the French name for the town 'Tamise', used until early in the 20th century.