2000
#4,796
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,729
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.49
Rare Last name
Sills
An English occupational surname referring to a maker or installer of window sills or thresholds.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,184 Americans carry the last name Sills. That puts it at #5,374 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.10 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 47,711 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sills 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Sills with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.2K
1 in 47,711
Census rank
#5,374
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,265 bearers of the surname Sills in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.10 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5374th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sills, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.0%. The next largest groups are Black (13.4%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sills
The surname SILLS originated in England and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English word "sill," which referred to a threshold or the base of a window or door. The name likely evolved as a descriptive term for someone who lived near a prominent sill or threshold.
Records show the earliest known bearer of the name was Robert atte Sylle, mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1296. This early spelling variation highlights the name's connection to the word "sill." The name was also found in various forms, such as Sill, Sille, and Syll, in medieval documents from counties like Essex, Kent, and Surrey.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the SILLS spelling appears in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of Wiltshire from 1523, where a John Sills is mentioned. This suggests the more modern spelling had emerged by the 16th century.
The SILLS surname is also associated with several place names in England, such as Sillenden in Kent and Silsden in West Yorkshire. These locations may have influenced the development of the surname or been named after early bearers of the name.
Notable individuals with the SILLS surname include:
1. John Sills (c. 1610-1695), an English Puritan minister and author from Sussex.
2. John Sills (1782-1854), an English cricketer who played for Hampshire and Surrey in the early 19th century.
3. Beverley Sills (1929-2007), an American opera singer and general manager of the New York City Opera.
4. Thomas Sills (1914-1995), an American actor known for his roles in films like "The Killers" and "The Devil's Brigade."
5. Walter Sills (1858-1931), an English cricketer who played for Surrey and captained the team from 1893 to 1900.
The SILLS surname has a long and rich history in England, with its origins dating back to the 13th century and its connection to the Old English word "sill." While not as common as some other English surnames, it has been borne by notable figures across various fields throughout the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sills
Among Census respondents with the surname Sills, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.0%. The next largest groups are Black (13.4%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Sills 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 Sills surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.0% · 4,884
- Black or African American13.4% · 841
- Two or more races4.3% · 270
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 199
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 51
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 20
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sills
Sills 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
#5,171
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,761
+32 bearers (+0.5%)
Per 100,000 2.29
Rank movement Down 375 places
2020
#5,374
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,265
-496 bearers (-7.3%)
Per 100,000 2.10
Rank movement Down 203 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,796 | 6,729 | 2.49 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,171 | 6,761 | 2.29 | +32 bearers (+0.5%) | Down 375 places |
| 2020 | #5,374 | 6,265 | 2.10 | -496 bearers (-7.3%) | Down 203 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 Sills 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 | #5,171 | #5,374 | -3.9% |
| Count | 6,761 | 6,265 | -7.3% |
| Per 100K | 2.29 | 2.10 | -8.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sills bearers went from 6,761 to 6,265 (-7.3% change). The surname moved down 203 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,171 to #5,374.
FAQ
Sills surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sills?
Name Census estimates that about 7,184 living Americans carry the surname Sills. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 47,711 residents.
How common is Sills?
Sills ranks #5,374 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.10 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,265 people with the surname Sills. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,184), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.10 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Sills.
Has Sills become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sills went from 6,761 recorded bearers to 6,265. That is a decrease of 496 (-7.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,171 to #5,374.
What does the Census say about the background of Sills?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sills, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.0%. The next largest groups are Black (13.4%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Sills in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.0% (4,884 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sills appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (78.0%), Black (13.4%), Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Sills (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 Sills mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a maker or installer of window sills or thresholds. 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 Sills (2.10 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 many people have the last name Sills?
See how many people have the surname Sills on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.