2010
#149,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Tillard
A surname possibly derived from a Middle English word referring to a tiller of the soil or farmer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 122 Americans carry the last name Tillard. That puts it at #152,339 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,809,462 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tillard 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
122
1 in 2,809,462
Census rank
#152,339
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
106
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 106 bearers of the surname Tillard in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152339th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tillard, the largest self-reported group is White at 41.5%. The next largest groups are Black (34.9%) and Hispanic (14.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tillard
The surname Tillard originated in the northern French region of Normandy during the early medieval period. It is derived from the Old French word "telier," meaning a weaver or cloth maker, which in turn comes from the Latin word "tela," meaning loom or web. The earliest recorded spelling of the name was Tilliard, found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a survey of landowners commissioned by William the Conqueror.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Robert Tillard, a merchant from Rouen who lived in the late 12th century. His son, William Tillard, was a wealthy landowner and benefactor of the Cistercian abbey at Fecamp. In the 13th century, the Tillard family had established themselves in the region around the village of Tillières-sur-Avre, which may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of their surname.
During the Middle Ages, the Tillard name appeared in various records and documents across Normandy and neighboring regions. A notable figure was Jehan Tillard, a master stonemason who worked on the construction of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris in the late 14th century. Another prominent Tillard was Guillaume Tillard, a lawyer and judge who served as a member of the Parlement of Normandy in the 1500s.
As the name spread beyond its original homeland, variations in spelling emerged, including Tilliard, Tilliart, and Tiliart. In England, where many Norman families settled after the Norman Conquest of 1066, the name was anglicized to Tillard or Tilliard. One of the earliest recorded instances was Sir John Tilliard, a knight who fought alongside King Edward III in the Battle of Crécy during the Hundred Years' War in 1346.
Other notable individuals with the Tillard surname include:
1. Étienne Tillard (1641-1720), a French architect who designed several churches and public buildings in Paris.
2. Pierre Tillard (1735-1811), a French military officer who served in the American Revolutionary War and later became a general under Napoleon.
3. Jean-Baptiste Tillard (1797-1879), a French botanist and horticulturist who specialized in the study of orchids.
4. Alfred Tillard (1870-1952), a British artist and illustrator known for his depictions of rural life and landscapes.
5. Simone Tillard (1911-1996), a French writer and journalist who covered World War II as a war correspondent.
While the Tillard name has seen various spellings and geographic dispersions over the centuries, its origins can be traced back to the weavers and cloth makers of medieval Normandy, reflecting the region's rich textile heritage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tillard
Among Census respondents with the surname Tillard, the largest self-reported group is White at 41.5%. The next largest groups are Black (34.9%) and Hispanic (14.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Tillard 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 Tillard surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White41.5% · 44
- Black or African American34.9% · 37
- Hispanic or Latino14.2% · 15
- Two or more races7.5% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tillard
Tillard appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#152,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-4 bearers (-3.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,944 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #149,395 | 110 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #152,339 | 106 | 0.04 | -4 bearers (-3.6%) | Down 2,944 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 Tillard 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 | #149,395 | #152,339 | -2.0% |
| Count | 110 | 106 | -3.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -11.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tillard bearers went from 110 to 106 (-3.6% change). The surname moved down 2,944 positions in the national ranking, going from #149,395 to #152,339.
FAQ
Tillard surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tillard?
Name Census estimates that about 122 living Americans carry the surname Tillard. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,809,462 residents.
How common is Tillard?
Tillard ranks #152,339 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 106 people with the surname Tillard. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (122), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Tillard.
Has Tillard become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tillard went from 110 recorded bearers to 106. That is a decrease of 4 (-3.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #149,395 to #152,339.
What does the Census say about the background of Tillard?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tillard, the largest self-reported group is White at 41.5%. The next largest groups are Black (34.9%) and Hispanic (14.2%). 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 Tillard in the 2020 Census, accounting for 41.5% (44 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tillard appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (41.5%), Black (34.9%), Hispanic (14.2%). 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 Tillard (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 Tillard mean?
A surname possibly derived from a Middle English word referring to a tiller of the soil or farmer. 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 Tillard (0.04 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 Americans have the surname Tillard?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.