2000
#10,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,825
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.05
Rare Last name
Tillett
A locational surname derived from the Old English words for a place where lime trees grow.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,368 Americans carry the last name Tillett. That puts it at #10,439 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.98 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 101,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tillett 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 Tillett with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.4K
1 in 101,768
Census rank
#10,439
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,937 bearers of the surname Tillett in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.98 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10439th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tillett, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.2%. The next largest groups are Black (19.3%) and Hispanic (5.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tillett
The surname Tillett originated in England and dates back to the 13th century. It is a locational name derived from the Old English words 'til,' meaning 'tilled' or cultivated land, and 'hyll,' meaning a hill or slope. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a cultivated hill or slope.
The earliest recorded spelling of the name appears to be Tilliett, found in the Hundred Rolls of Wiltshire in 1273. Other early spellings include Tylliet, Tiliet, and Tillyett, reflecting the varied pronunciations and spellings common in medieval times.
The surname is particularly associated with the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset, where it is believed to have originated. In the Domesday Book of 1086, there are references to settlements with similar names, such as Tilledels and Tillesdene, which may have been the birthplaces of the earliest bearers of the Tillett surname.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname was John Tillett, who was mentioned in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1307. Another early bearer of the name was William Tillett, who was recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of Somerset in 1327.
In the 16th century, a notable figure was Benjamin Tillett (1548-1627), an English clergyman and academic who served as a Fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford, and later as the Rector of Whitchurch in Dorset.
During the English Civil War, Zachary Tillett (1620-1695) was a prominent Puritan and member of the Westminster Assembly, which drafted the Westminster Confession of Faith and other doctrinal standards for the Church of England.
In the 18th century, John Tillett (1736-1826) was a renowned English engraver and sculptor, known for his works in Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's Cathedral.
Another notable figure was Sir John Tillett (1845-1920), a British civil servant and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of the British Virgin Islands from 1904 to 1909.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have borne the surname Tillett, which has its roots in the English countryside and reflects the agricultural heritage of its earliest bearers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tillett
Among Census respondents with the surname Tillett, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.2%. The next largest groups are Black (19.3%) and Hispanic (5.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Tillett 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 Tillett surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.2% · 2,002
- Black or African American19.3% · 568
- Hispanic or Latino5.9% · 172
- Two or more races4.8% · 140
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 24
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tillett
Tillett 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
#10,243
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,147
+322 bearers (+11.4%)
Per 100,000 1.07
Rank movement Up 203 places
2020
#10,439
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,937
-210 bearers (-6.7%)
Per 100,000 0.98
Rank movement Down 196 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,446 | 2,825 | 1.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,243 | 3,147 | 1.07 | +322 bearers (+11.4%) | Up 203 places |
| 2020 | #10,439 | 2,937 | 0.98 | -210 bearers (-6.7%) | Down 196 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 Tillett 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 | #10,243 | #10,439 | -1.9% |
| Count | 3,147 | 2,937 | -6.7% |
| Per 100K | 1.07 | 0.98 | -8.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tillett bearers went from 3,147 to 2,937 (-6.7% change). The surname moved down 196 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,243 to #10,439.
FAQ
Tillett surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tillett?
Name Census estimates that about 3,368 living Americans carry the surname Tillett. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 101,768 residents.
How common is Tillett?
Tillett ranks #10,439 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.98 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 2,937 people with the surname Tillett. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,368), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.98 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.98 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 Tillett.
Has Tillett become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tillett went from 3,147 recorded bearers to 2,937. That is a decrease of 210 (-6.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,243 to #10,439.
What does the Census say about the background of Tillett?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tillett, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.2%. The next largest groups are Black (19.3%) and Hispanic (5.9%). 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 Tillett in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.2% (2,002 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tillett appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (68.2%), Black (19.3%), Hispanic (5.9%). 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 Tillett (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 Tillett mean?
A locational surname derived from the Old English words for a place where lime trees grow. 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 Tillett (0.98 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 have the surname Tillett?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.