2000
#7,368
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,168
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.55
Rare Last name
Till
An English occupational surname for a farmer or tiller of the soil.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,424 Americans carry the last name Till. That puts it at #8,220 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.29 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 77,476 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Till 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 Till with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.4K
1 in 77,476
Census rank
#8,220
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,858 bearers of the surname Till in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.29 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8220th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Till, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Till
Among Census respondents with the surname Till, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Till 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 Till surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.1% · 3,476
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 127
- Two or more races3.0% · 116
- Black or African American2.3% · 90
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 38
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Till
Till 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
#7,721
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,299
+131 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 1.46
Rank movement Down 353 places
2020
#8,220
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,858
-441 bearers (-10.3%)
Per 100,000 1.29
Rank movement Down 499 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,368 | 4,168 | 1.55 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,721 | 4,299 | 1.46 | +131 bearers (+3.1%) | Down 353 places |
| 2020 | #8,220 | 3,858 | 1.29 | -441 bearers (-10.3%) | Down 499 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 Till 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 | #7,721 | #8,220 | -6.5% |
| Count | 4,299 | 3,858 | -10.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.46 | 1.29 | -11.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Till bearers went from 4,299 to 3,858 (-10.3% change). The surname moved down 499 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,721 to #8,220.
FAQ
Till surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Till?
Name Census estimates that about 4,424 living Americans carry the surname Till. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 77,476 residents.
How common is Till?
Till ranks #8,220 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.29 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 3,858 people with the surname Till. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,424), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.29 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.29 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 Till.
Has Till become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Till went from 4,299 recorded bearers to 3,858. That is a decrease of 441 (-10.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,721 to #8,220.
What does the Census say about the background of Till?
Among Census respondents with the surname Till, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Till in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.1% (3,476 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Till appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.1%), Hispanic (3.3%), Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Till (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 Till mean?
An English occupational surname for a farmer or tiller of the soil. 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 Till (1.29 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 are called Till?
If you just want to know how many people are called Till, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.