Tilger last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Tilger

A surname of uncertain origin, possibly an altered spelling of a German occupational name for a maker of tiles.

Tilger, 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 Tilger surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tilger in America

Tilger is the 106570th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tilger surname appeared 167 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Tilger.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tilger 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 106570 88461 18.57%
Count 167 195 -15.47%
Proportion per 100k 0.06 0.07 -15.38%

The history of the last name Tilger

The surname "TILGER" is believed to have originated in Germany, likely in the medieval period around the 13th or 14th century. It is derived from the Old German word "tilgen," which means "to pay off" or "to cancel a debt." This suggests that the name may have been associated with occupations related to debt collection, taxation, or financial management.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the "Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae," a collection of medieval documents from Saxony, where a certain "Tilgerus de Brandis" is mentioned in a record dated 1289. This indicates that the name was present in the region of Saxony during that time period.

During the 15th century, the name appears in various records from different regions of Germany, such as the "Gerichtsprotokollen der Stadt Erfurt" (court records of the city of Erfurt), where a "Hans Tilger" is mentioned in 1492. Another notable mention is in the "Zinsregister der Stadt Weissenburg" (tax register of the town of Weissenburg), which lists a "Peter Tilger" in 1498.

One of the earliest prominent figures bearing the name was Johannes Tilger, a German theologian and reformer who lived from 1527 to 1597. He was a close associate of Martin Luther and played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation movement in Germany.

Another notable individual was Georg Tilger, a German painter and engraver who lived from 1593 to 1652. He is known for his religious paintings and engravings, many of which can be found in churches and museums across Germany.

In the 19th century, Friedrich Tilger (1817-1893) was a German architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Berlin and other cities in Germany. He was also involved in the development of urban infrastructure and city planning initiatives.

The name "TILGER" has also been associated with various place names in Germany, such as Tilgerfeld and Tilgerhof, which may have been derived from individuals bearing the surname or their occupations.

Throughout its history, the surname "TILGER" has been spelled in various ways, including "Tilcker," "Tilcker," and "Tilker," reflecting regional variations and linguistic evolution over time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tilger

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

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 Tilger was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 98.20% 164
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.00% 0
Hispanic Origin (S)% (S)

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 Tilger has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 98.20% 96.41% 1.84%
Black 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Hispanic (S)% 2.56% (S)%

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

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

Reference this page

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"Tilger last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on May 21, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/tilger-surname-popularity/.

"Tilger last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/tilger-surname-popularity/. Accessed 21 May, 2025

Tilger last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/tilger-surname-popularity/.

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