2000
#14,943
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,815
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.67
Rare Last name
Tilden
An English place name derived from Tilden, a village in Sussex, England.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,068 Americans carry the last name Tilden. That puts it at #15,602 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 165,742 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tilden 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.
Bearers in the US
2.1K
1 in 165,742
Census rank
#15,602
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,803 bearers of the surname Tilden in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15602nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tilden, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tilden
The surname Tilden originated in England during the medieval period. It is derived from an Old English place name, Tildan or Tildene, which is believed to have meant "the tilted valley" or "the sloping valley." The name is thought to have originated in areas of England where there were valleys with a noticeable slope or tilt.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Tilden can be found in the Domesday Book, which was compiled in 1086 during the reign of William the Conqueror. The name appeared in various spellings, including Tilden, Tildene, and Tylden, reflecting the variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions of the time.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname Tilden was Sir Ralph Tilden, who lived in the 13th century and served as a knight in the service of King Edward I. Another early bearer of the name was William Tilden, who was born in the late 14th century and served as a member of Parliament for the county of Kent.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Tilden family established themselves as prominent landowners and gentry in several counties of southern England, particularly in Kent and Sussex. One notable member of the family was Sir Philip Tilden, who was born in 1585 and served as a member of Parliament for the borough of Rye in East Sussex.
In the 18th century, the Tilden name gained further prominence with the birth of Samuel Tilden in 1814. Tilden was a prominent lawyer and politician who served as the Governor of New York and was the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in the highly contested election of 1876.
Another famous bearer of the Tilden surname was William Tilden II, who was born in 1893 and became one of the greatest tennis players of the early 20th century. He won 10 Grand Slam singles titles, including three Wimbledon championships, and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1959.
Throughout its history, the surname Tilden has been associated with various place names in England, such as Tilden in Kent, Tilden Hill in Oxfordshire, and Tilden Farm in Surrey. These place names often reflect the original meaning of the surname, referring to areas with sloping or tilted terrain.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tilden
Among Census respondents with the surname Tilden, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Tilden 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 Tilden surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.0% · 1,551
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.2% · 76
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 65
- Two or more races3.2% · 57
- Black or African American2.2% · 39
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tilden
Tilden 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
#15,833
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,838
+23 bearers (+1.3%)
Per 100,000 0.62
Rank movement Down 890 places
2020
#15,602
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,803
-35 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.60
Rank movement Up 231 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,943 | 1,815 | 0.67 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,833 | 1,838 | 0.62 | +23 bearers (+1.3%) | Down 890 places |
| 2020 | #15,602 | 1,803 | 0.60 | -35 bearers (-1.9%) | Up 231 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 Tilden 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 | #15,833 | #15,602 | 1.5% |
| Count | 1,838 | 1,803 | -1.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.62 | 0.60 | -2.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tilden bearers went from 1,838 to 1,803 (-1.9% change). The surname moved up 231 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,833 to #15,602.
FAQ
Tilden surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tilden?
Name Census estimates that about 2,068 living Americans carry the surname Tilden. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 165,742 residents.
How common is Tilden?
Tilden ranks #15,602 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.60 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,803 people with the surname Tilden. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,068), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.60 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Tilden.
Has Tilden become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tilden went from 1,838 recorded bearers to 1,803. That is a decrease of 35 (-1.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #15,833 to #15,602.
What does the Census say about the background of Tilden?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tilden, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Tilden in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.0% (1,551 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tilden appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.0%), American Indian/Alaska Native (4.2%), Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Tilden (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 Tilden mean?
An English place name derived from Tilden, a village in Sussex, England. 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 Tilden (0.60 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 share the surname Tilden?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.