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

Till, 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 Till surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Till in America

Till is the 7721st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Till surname appeared 4,299 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 Till.

We can also compare 2010 data for Till 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 Till

The surname Till originates from the Old English word "til" or "tilian," meaning "to cultivate" or "to till the soil." This name first emerged in England during the Anglo-Saxon period, between the 5th and 11th centuries.

The earliest known record of the Till surname can be traced back to the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. In this record, the name appears as "Tilla," which was likely a occupational surname given to individuals who worked as farmers or tillers of the land.

As the name spread throughout England, it took on various spellings such as Tille, Tylle, and Tyll. These variations were often influenced by regional dialects and the scribes who recorded the names.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the Till surname was John Tyll, who lived in Cambridgeshire in the 13th century. Another notable figure was William Tyll, a merchant from London, who was mentioned in records from the 14th century.

During the medieval period, the Till surname was also associated with certain place names. For instance, the village of Tillingham in Essex was derived from the Old English words "til" and "inga" meaning "the people of the cultivated land."

In the 16th century, a prominent figure named Sir Thomas Till (c. 1516 - 1592) served as the Lord Mayor of London. He was a wealthy merchant and a member of the Worshipful Company of Mercers.

Another significant individual was Sir John Till (1639 - 1714), an English politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for Ipswich in the late 17th century.

In the 18th century, the Reverend William Till (1711 - 1785) was an English clergyman and author, known for his work "The Antiquities of Leeds."

During the 19th century, Sir George Till (1823 - 1901) was a British civil servant and administrator who served as the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal in India from 1890 to 1895.

As the Till surname spread across Europe and beyond, it continued to be associated with agricultural occupations and rural communities. However, over time, it also became more diverse, with individuals bearing this name working in various professions and leaving their mark in various fields.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Till

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

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

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

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