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

Sill, 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 Sill surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sill in America

Sill is the 9568th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sill surname appeared 3,397 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Sill.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sill 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 Sill

The surname SILL is of English origin, emerging in the medieval period around the 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English word "syll," meaning a threshold or the base of a doorway. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near or worked on a threshold or doorway.

The earliest recorded instances of the name SILL can be found in various historical records from the 13th century onwards. For example, the name appears in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1279, where it is recorded as "Sille." It is also found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327, written as "Sylle."

In the Middle Ages, the SILL surname was particularly prevalent in the counties of Oxfordshire, Worcestershire, and Gloucestershire, indicating that these areas may have been the original strongholds of the name. The name was also associated with certain place names, such as Silloth in Cumbria, which was derived from the Old Norse words "sill" (a causeway or pool) and "haugr" (a mound or hill).

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname SILL was Sir John Sill, who lived in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. He was a renowned English knight and landowner, holding estates in Gloucestershire. Another notable figure was Sir Thomas Sill, a Member of Parliament for Gloucestershire in the 16th century, born around 1510.

In the 17th century, the SILL surname gained prominence with the birth of Richard Sill (1609-1677), an English colonist and one of the founders of Windsor, Connecticut. His descendants played a significant role in the early history of the American colonies.

Other notable individuals with the SILL surname include John Sill (1638-1695), an English clergyman and author, and Thomas Sill (1701-1789), a prominent Philadelphia merchant and politician who served as the Mayor of Philadelphia from 1786 to 1788.

While the SILL surname has its roots in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including North America, Australia, and New Zealand, through various waves of migration and settlement.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sill

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

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 Sill 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 Sill 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 Sill was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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